The Innocent
by Hikaru Irving
Summary: Sequel to The Guilty. Half a year has gone by since the Angelcide incident. Everyone has since then returned to their everyday lives, but a new Summon Spirit and mysterious, seemingly mindless enemy will drag them back into the struggle to save Aselia.
1. Prologue: Resurrection

Hikaru: Oh, yay! A sequel to The Guilty! EVERYONE APPLAUD ME, DAMMIT!

Lloyd: In this story, do I come back to life?

Hikaru: No.

Lloyd: I HATE YOU!!!!

Hikaru: Oh, I know you all love me . . .

Abyssion: Hikaru doesn't own ToS.

Hikaru: . . .How lame.

The Temple of Darkness, which is, well, dark. The Blue Candle's effect on this place was slowly wearing off, but that didn't matter one bit to the only person in the Temple. The monsters all fell before her prowess, enabling her to head to the core of the Temple . . .Shadow's Seal. Upon arriving at the seal, the girl reached into her bag, withdrawing a thick book with a black leather-bound cover that appeared to be quite new. She set the book before the seal, flipping the volume to the page she wanted. When the book opened, the intense blackness of the chamber seemed to press in on her. She paid this change in the atmosphere no mind. Instead, she got to her feet, outstretching both her arms, uttering an incantation. A spell circle drew itself underneath the girl's feet, and a small cloud of darkness materialized directly above the book. The haze shot into the female's body, who did not seem to mind at all. The entire seal chamber exploded with manifold shafts of light as the spell was completed. When the lights died, the girl lay on the ebony stone floor, unconscious, but alive. Her eyes slowly opened to reveal bright blue irises, whilst blond hair spilled down her back. She stood up, straightening her outfit. She balled up her hands under her chin.

"Good work. It looks like you amounted to something after all, you fiasco." Her voice was layered with another; a young male's.

Violet-pink angel wings flowered from the girl's shoulders, and Colette flew away, her body guided by the soul she resurrected.

Hikaru: Well, that's the prologue. I shall write down some quotes that come in the next chappy!

"Who the hell are you?"

"You know, you look a lot like Lloyd . . ."

"Genis, are you sure this is New Mizuho?"

"Dead sure, Artemis . . ."

Hikaru: Well, there we are! See ya until the next chapter! Oh, and Artemis is yet another original character yet to be revealed. Pleas read and review!


	2. Artemis Makoto

Hikaru: Hi, this is the first chappy of Ashes to Ashes. And to answer some of your questions, Artemis is NOT the Artemis from the Artemis Fowl series. Got it? Good. On another note, this sequel is continued from the ending where dear Daddy dies. I'm so evil. Considering that this is the chapter where Artemis (NOT Fowl) appears, he's doing the disclaimer.

Artemis: My master/creator doesn't own the game this story is about and that I appear in. NAMCO does.

Raphael: STOP COPYING ME! I'M THE ONE WHO SAID HIKARU IS MY MASTER AND CREATOR!

Hikaru: I am master and creator of BOTH OF YOU! SO QUIT WHINING!

Artemis/Raphael: Yes, ma'am!

Genis sighed as he walked from the Iselia village gate, heading into the northwest forest, where New Mizuho was built and established. Since Sheena was the next chief, it was obvious that she was the one to choose where the new Mizuho village was to be located, and she chose Iselia Forest. Well, it concealed them well enough; sometimes Genis, among many other people, got so lost amongst the dense woods, that they had to send some sort of word or signal that they were coming to visit. Genis, for example, would cast a Fire Ball spell skywards so that the people of New Mizuho would see where he was. This time, the little half-elven boy was determined _not _to get lost in the woods. He began his little hike up the hills of the forest at a brisk run, and not before long, he collided with another person. With a loud shout of "Ouch!", Genis tumbled backwards down the hill, performing a chain of somersaults as he went. He pushed himself off the grass, shaking his head to purge it of twigs, grass, and loose leaves.

"I'm sorry, are you all right?" A foreign voice sounded next to him.

Genis looked up to see a boy that looked to be a couple years older than he was. The stranger had light black short hair, reddish brown eyes; he was wearing navy blue pants, brown shoes, a black shirt with a red vest, and there was a tarnished silver pendant strung about his neck. The boy held out a helping hand to Genis. The half-elven boy took it, and the newcomer pulled him to his feet. Genis looked quizzically at him.

"Who the hell are you?"

The other boy looked indignant.

"Hey! That wasn't very nice! My name is Artemis Makoto. And what's your name, may I ask?"

"I'm sorry, I was just startled. My name is Genis Sage. Uh . . ." Genis replied, troubled by something.

Artemis raised an eyebrow.

"Genis? Is something wrong?"

Genis shook his head.

"No, it's nothing. By the way, what are you doing here, in the middle of a forest?"

"Oh . . .I was just looking for the village of New Mizuho. I need to see the Chief, and I heard that the preceding Chief had moved the village to the country of Sylvarant." Artemis responded somewhat unenthusiastically.

Genis sensed that this was a matter his companion didn't really want to talk about. He brushed off his outfit, grabbing his kendama.

"Well, I can take you there. The new Chief is a good friend of mine, and I was just going to visit her. Want me to take you there?"

Artemis nodded mutely. This bothered Genis for some unknown reason. Sighing, Genis walked on ahead of Artemis, who tagged along silently. The forest trees were closely cramped together, making walking without tripped rather difficult. As the two boys progressed further, the sunlight that crept into the forest floor through the canopy of the woods became scarce. Genis became frustrated. He kicked a nearby tree root, muttering under his breath.

"I don't get it. We should be there by now!"

Artemis strode on ahead of Genis, deeper into the woods. Genis went after him.

"Hey, where are you . . ." His voice dried out as the two stood before the gate of the village of New Mizuho. Genis was baffled.

"Hey, how did you know where to go?" he asked Artemis.

Artemis shrugged.

"I just saw the gate between the trees. You sure this is New Mizuho, Genis?"

Genis nodded.

"Dead sure, Artemis. Let's go inside."

Artemis walked through the gate, Genis in tow. He proceeded among the many similar houses directly to the Chief's house, Genis right behind him. The little kid was struck by a question.

"Hey, Artemis? Isn't this the first time you've been here?"

The question made Artemis stop dead in his tracks. He cast around for a quick answer.

"Uh . . .I always heard that the most important person's house always resided in the center of a village."

Genis shrugged, accepting that as a response. Sheena's house was indeed in the center of the town. The two young males were greeted by a loud shout of fury as they approached the house, before they even opened the door. Artemis felt he had to ask.

"Genis . . .who's the Chief?"

Genis, who was startled by the yell, answered shakily.

"Sheena Fujibayashi, a summoner. She helped reunite the worlds when Cruxis thrived."

Artemis smiled inwardly. Sounds like her all right . . .

"Sheena? . . .Good." He muttered.

"What did you say?" Genis asked.

Artemis shook his head.

"Nothing, just talking to myself, that's all."

Genis nodded, his hand gripping the handle to the door. He slid it open, looking inside timidly, Artemis mimicking his actions. The duo of boys saw Sheena Fujibayashi sitting upright in her futon, Professor Raine standing a safe distance away from her. Sheena's face was red with rage, or rather, mortification. Genis shyly walked inside, stopping once he was alongside his older sister.

"Raine, what're you doing here?"

Raine shook her head.

"Orochi thought that Sheena seemed to be a bit ill lately, so he sent for me in Iselia. And upon my examination of her symptoms, I'd say that she's—"

"Raine! You'd better not say anything!" Sheena shouted.

Raine only sighed, smiling despite the summoner's rage.

"There is only one possibility. Sheena's pregnant."

Genis gasped, his hands covering his mouth.

"Wow, really?!" He turned to Sheena.

"So who's the lucky dad?"

Sheena hung her head. How she had hoped that she would never have to say this . . .

". . .Lloyd is."

The silence that followed was long and unnatural. Artemis entered the dwelling, his face set in a perplexed manner.

"What's going on?" He asked.

Raine sighed, tears forming in her aqua eyes.

". . .About two months ago, Lloyd Irving, the wielder of the Eternal Sword, and the one who reunited the worlds, came down with an illness. We managed to cure it, but then someone named Raphael was stalking us. He made it clear he wanted to see Lloyd dead. Naturally, we fled from place to place, but he eventually caught up with us, and Raphael—"

Sheena interrupted her in midsentence.

"Raphael murdered him! That son of a bitch murdered him! He stabbed him in the heart without so much as a second thought! All because Lloyd was an angel!"

Genis gasped, as did Raine.

"Sheena! Stress is _not _good for the baby!!" The silver-haired boy scolded.

"Sheena, that is not a good idea to blurt out loud." Raine reprimanded.

Too late. Artemis arched an eyebrow at the three of them quizzically.

"Your lover was an angel? How is that . . ."

Genis sighed, turning toward Artemis.

"You know how Exspheres work, right?"

Artemis nodded.

"Yes . . ."

"Well, there is an evolved form of Exsphere called a Cruxis Crystal. These Crystals enable the wearer to use angelic abilities, and also grant them wings. The abilities Judgment, Holy Song, Holy Judgment, Judgment Ray, Retribution, and Sacrifice are all learned only through a Cruxis Crystal. That's how one becomes an angel." Genis explained.

Artemis noticed Sheena staring at him with a strange look etched on her face.

". . .What?"

Sheena gasped at the quizzical expression Artemis made.

"I . . .I'm sorry . . ." She hung her head, and then glanced back up at him.

"You look a lot like Lloyd, you know that?"

Raine took a good look at Artemis, and gasped at the resemblance she saw.

"Yes, you're right. What's your name?" She asked.

Artemis sighed, bringing a hand to his forehead, much like Kratos would.

"My name is Artemis Makoto. I come from the village of Exire."

All three of them gasped again. Artemis was getting sick of it.

"Exire? So, you are a half-elf!" Genis blurted out.

Artemis faltered for a moment before regaining himself.

"Er . . .no, I'm not a half-elf . . .but in my ancestry, there were elves, so I can use magic. I specialize in se—"He held his tongue at the last minute. He couldn't say that . . .it would ruin everything . . .

Genis raised a brow, curious.

"Se . . .?"

Artemis vacillated, his heart pounding against his chest.

"Er . . .several different elemental spells, including light and dark magic." He hastily replied. _Good recovery, if I do say so myself, which I am, _Artemis thought to himself.

"Anyways . . .when did you . . .you know . . .have it?" Artemis asked Sheena, who flushed even more.

"It was when Lloyd and I were in our room at the Tethe'alla Renegade base . . .before Raphael attacked." She reluctantly said.

Genis snickered.

"Sheena, you naughty girl! But at least Lloyd will live on . . .in both your heart, your child's heart, and your child. Aren't you glad?" He asked.

Smiling, Sheena nodded.

"Yes . . .I am glad,"

Artemis smiled, turning on his heel, walking out the door. No one objected. That was fine with him. He walked on through the village, towards the exit. Sheena was in fact the one he was searching for . . .now, all he had to do was find some way to get to New Heimdall . . .Since the leader of the Renegades died along with Lloyd in the base, Rheairds aren't available for his use. Then an idea struck him. He could just go to the Balacruf Mausoleum, where Sylph rested—

His thoughts were cut short by a spinning sound. He jumped to his left, looking over his shoulder. He just dodged a chakram by inches. The sharp disk rounded a U-turn, flying back toward its owner. Artemis looked skyward. A blond, blue-eyed, white-clad angel hovered in the air high above him, catching the recurring chakram. The angel's eyes were half-closed, as if she were possessed, which she probably was. Her voice came out layered by another voice.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here? Artemis, what are you planning to do out here?"

Artemis gasped.

"I-it's . . ._you!_ You're that . . ." he struggled for the right words.

Colette chuckled at the perplexed boy below her. She raised her chakrams.

"It's really obvious why you're here, really. Too bad that book you're looking for is long gone."

Artemis gasped again, alarmed.

"G-gone?! But I . . .I . . ."

Colette seemed amused as she smirked.

"Need it? Yes, you did need it . . .but I destroyed it, and there are no other copies of that particular book . . ."

She laughed at Artemis, and the way his face was filled with despair at the prospect that the one item he needed didn't exist anymore.

"Your journey is futile, Artemis. Ever so futile . . .Oh, Holy One, cast your purifying light upon these corrupt souls . . ."

To Artemis . . .everything went black for a moment. Destroyed . . .no . . . Colette raised her hands, raising her voice.

"Judgment!"

Manifold rays of light all rained down upon Artemis, and he screamed as they struck him, and then unconsciousness overtook him; the magical energy that hit him was so powerful. Only one word escaped his lips before he passed out.

"M-Mother . . ."

Hikaru: How was it? Did you guys like it? Oh, and if any of you figure out some plot elements of the story, please don't say so in your review; I don't want it to be spoiled for the people that didn't figure it out . . .so, yeah. Poor Artemis . . .he got attacked by Colette. Hmm . . .Colette plus evil equals . . .TWISTED PLOT! HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA!!!! Yesh, I am so evil. Anyway, please read and review!


	3. Hybrid Arts

Hikaru: Didn't I say that Artemis is NOT the one from the Fowl series?! For one thing, the one from the book series has BLUE eyes, NOT RED. Secondly, he's only THIRTEEN, whilst Artemis Makoto is FIFTEEN. I also said that this is continued from the ORIGINAL ENDING, DID I NOT?! On another matter, didn't I say in the last chapter NOT TO REVEAL ANY PLOT ELEMENTS IF YOU FIGURED THEM OUT?! No one listens to me anymore . . .I'm gonna go cry in my random corner now . . .

Corrine: Hikaru doesn't own ToS, NAMCO owns it. Aw, look, you made her cry . . .

Raine dashed outside immediately when she heard someone outside scream. At the village gate, there hovered Colette, who was holding Artemis in her arms. The Professor gasped.

"_Colette?!_" She breathed.

The blond angel turned toward her, blue eyes half-closed and laughing.

"Well, if it isn't Professor Raine. I trust you are well?"

"Colette . . .What in Martel's name are you doing?" Raine demanded, taking an involuntary step back.

Colette lazily sighed, setting the unconscious Artemis on the ground. She turned away from the silver-haired woman.

"That is not for you to know."

"What drove you over the edge? Colette!" Raine yelled.

"Raine, what's going on?" Genis asked as he rushed out of the house, Sheena in tow.

The newcomers gasped when they saw Colette. The angel was laughing. Laughing? What was going on? Recognizing danger, Genis grabbed his kendama, preparing to cast a spell.

"Raine, when I say 'go', please get Artemis, okay?" He whispered.

Raine nodded, readying herself to run. Genis lifted his kendama into the air, caught the orb, and cast the spell.

"I call upon thee in the land of the dead, to unleash thy fury of thunder . . .Indignation!"

The purple spell circle formulated underneath Colette and Artemis, sparks floating upwards.

"Go, now, Raine!" Genis cried, holding his kendama up.

Raine didn't need the telling twice. She sprinted, ducking her head below the sparks that now stopped traveling skyward. Quickly, she grabbed Artemis, binding her arms about his torso, and threw her body out of the spell circle as a dome of lightning flashed and trapped Colette as she cried, "Damage Guard!", but it did little to lift the damage. Raine groaned, standing upright. She positioned her hands directly above Artemis.

"Revive," She breathed, concentrating hard.

Artemis moaned loudly as he came to, pressing a hand against his forehead. Raine breathed a sigh of relief, waving her hands, casting another spell.

"Heal," she said, louder than the first time.

The familiar blue flares of light washed up and over Artemis' body as the magic cured his wounds. In almost no time at all, the boy was back on his feet, looking wildly around. He glared at Colette.

"You . . .bastard . . ." He growled, reaching into his vest pockets and whipping out a multitude of varying cards.

Behind him, Sheena gasped. Artemis paid no heed; instead, he just dashed up to Colette, swinging his arms toward her.

"Dark Seal!" He cried.

Black cards surrounded Colette as she was struck, and then a spell followed. A black sphere outlined with purple bound Colette, which then exploded, sending the angel flying to the ground. She flipped up, floating a few feet above the earth. She gripped her chakrams, advancing on Artemis. He blocked when she began spinning.

"Triple Ray Thrust!"

"Guardian!" Artemis shouted. The green sphere rose up, encasing him. The chakrams bounced off the shield, convincing Colette to try another tactic. She put both chakrams in one hand, her free hand jabbing into the air, releasing a glitter of dust.

"Hammer Rain!" She yelled.

Countless red hammers all materialized out of the dust, falling upon Artemis. The boy saw that he had no time whatsoever to use Guardian again, so he compromised by throwing himself on the ground, hands covering his head.

"Force Field!"

Artemis looked up. Genis and Raine stood on either side of him, using their defense techniques simultaneously. The hammers simply bounded off the green spheres. Artemis clumsily rose to his feet, gripping his cards. He rushed toward the girl again, repeating the motions he performed earlier, this time with a differing attack.

"Tidal Seal!"

Aqua cards encircled the blond angel, delivering a powerful blow. This time, a geyser of water shot up beneath Colette, sending her into the air. Behind Artemis, Genis was muttering under his breath.

"Hmm . . .a combination of Spread and Pyre Seal . . .clever."

"But . . .he said he's from Exire . . ." Sheena breathed, amazed.

Once again, Colette flipped to avoid falling on the ground. She glowered at Artemis, raising her hand into the air, tossing more shining dust.

"Stardust Cross!" She called.

Innumerable stars avalanched down upon Artemis. He somersaulted forward to dodge it. Colette cursed.

"Hold still!"

Artemis couldn't launch an offense on Colette with her flying. There was nothing he could do but keep on dodging. Sheena saw his plight. Drawing out her guardian cards, she ran out onto the battlefield, holding one card up.

"I call upon the ruler of all elements! I summon thee; come, Maxwell!"

The Summon Spirit appeared, a grin spread across his face.

"Think you can avoid this?"

A moment later, Maxwell cast his Meteor Storm spell. A meteor shower rained upon the battlefield, no doubt striking Colette. She screamed as she was knocked to the ground, still clutching her chakrams. Sheena approached Colette, grabbing her by the collar, glaring at the girl.

"Colette! Why did you do that?"

For the first time since she appeared, Colette's eyes opened fully, and she looked to be surprised.

"Sheena! Stay away! I'm being posses—"Her voice ran dry as another voice took over.

"Think you can stop me, stupid girl? Go ahead and try . . ." This new voice belonged to a young male, and Sheena, as well as Genis and Raine, felt they heard this voice before.

Colette's eyes closed halfway once more. She broke away from Sheena's grasp, preparing to attack the summoner. This time, she didn't use her chakrams, but used a spell.

"Feel my pain! Come, Verius!"

The spell circle was a deep crimson, and the entity that was summoned materialized before the Chief of New Mizuho.

"Wh . . .what? Verius? Corrine!"

The creature with the many aqua colored tails appeared to be indifferent. Sheena noticed something different about this Summon Spirit. Its eyes were unfocused and a deep gray instead of the blue ones she knew.

"But I thought that you can't form a pact with Verius! Last time we met, he said . . .that he was bound by no one." Genis said pointedly.

"Yes . . .also, Colette doesn't know the summoning arts, so how—" Raine began, but the possessed Colette cut her off.

"Enough meaningless chatter! Verius, attack them!"

The wolf-like animal bent on its knees, opening its mouth wide. Multicolored energy began condensing in Verius' mouth, preparing a formidable attack. Sheena stood, quickly summoning another Summon Spirit.

"I call upon the disciple of everlasting ice! I summon thee; come, Celsius!"

Unfortunately, the Summon Spirit of Ice failed to appear in time, and so Verius' attack succeeded. At least, it would have had Genis not promptly shoved Sheena out of the way, and took the blow for himself.

"Force Field!" The little half-elf shouted as the sphere of energy beat him.

"Genis!" Raine, Sheena, and Artemis shrieked.

"No! You bastard!" Artemis shouted, advancing to Colette.

Verius intervened, blocking his way to Colette. Artemis couldn't have cared less.

"Lightning Seal!"

Purple cards scattered all over as a ball of condensed lightning shocked the living hell out of the Summon Spirit. Sheena gasped. That was how Corrine originally died . . .

"Verius! Corrine!" She shouted, dashing to the Summon Spirit.

Verius fell to the earth, overcome by the spell. Sheena bent on her knee, calling to the Summon Spirit.

"Corrine! Don't you remember me?"

Artemis stepped over the limp body of the Spirit, sprinting to Colette.

"Wind Seal!"

Green cards flew all around as blades of wind sliced their mark. Colette grunted, but nothing more serious than that. Artemis tried harder.

"Earth Seal!"

Yellow cards, stalagmites. Still Colette seemed indifferent. She held up her hands.

"Honestly, you bore me. White Wind!"

White winds flew around her, healing her many wounds. She flew up into the sky, looking down on her enemies below.

"Next time we meet, Artemis, you're mine. Just watch." And with that, she flew away.

Sheena sighed as Verius' body dispersed. She rounded on Artemis.

"Artemis, why did you do that?! Now Corrine is dead . . .again . . ."

Artemis held his hands up as if he were being placed under arrest.

"That creature was possessed! Don't you think it's better for him to rest than to do terrible things under Colette's influence?"

Sheena hung her head. Artemis was right. Said person stowed his cards back into his vest, rubbing them together, then folding his arms.

"Which reminds me . . .that angel, Colette . . .she's a Summon Spirit."

"What? But . . ." Raine was at a complete loss for words as she tended to Genis' wounds.

"Heal,"

Genis got to his feet. Artemis gave Sheena a meaningful look.

"You're a summoner. You know, don't you? That powerful mana . . .Colette's a Summon Spirit, or at least is possessed by one."

Sheena couldn't speak. She had formed pacts with all of the Summon Spirits, so the question that remained was . . .what was possessing Colette?

Hikaru: Another chapter. Loople-doo! And before you all forget . . .Artemis Makoto is NOT THE FOWL ARTEMIS, this sequel is based from THE ORIGINAL ENDING TO THE GUILTY, and finally . . .IF YOU'VE FIGURED OUT PLOT ELEMENTS, DON'T SPOIL IT FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!

. . .Thank you. Please read and review.


	4. Colette's Warning

Hikaru: Kratos looks so good in his Judgment costume . . .

Lloyd: . . .Hikaru?

Kratos: . . .

Hikaru: I wonder what Kratos sounds like if he sings . . .

Kratos: . . .

Hikaru: Or, maybe . . .what'll he look like in a swimsuit??

Kratos: Enough meaningless chatter . . .please.

Hikaru: What did Kratos look like as a kid . . .?

Kratos: Will you please stop this humiliating nonsense, Hikaru?

Hikaru: Humph. You're no fun, Kratos!

Undine: Authoress Hikaru doesn't own Tales of Symphonia.

"Why can't I come, Raine?! Genis and Artemis are only children!"

"But they aren't pregnant, Sheena. You need to stay here in New Mizuho."

". . .I hate you . . ."

"Live with it. You're tough."

Genis and Artemis couldn't help but to snicker a little when Raine came out from Sheena's house, looking extremely harassed. She and Sheena had had a heated argument over why Sheena couldn't go with them to New Heimdall. Raine sighed, brushing her jacket.

"Well, now that that's settled, we should go to New Heimdall. Ready, Artemis, Genis?"

Artemis mutely nodded, brushing away his dark bangs from his eyes.

"Um . . .Raine, why are we going to New Heimdall in the first place?" Genis asked, rubbing the back of his head.

Artemis sighed.

"Genis, we'll need to identify which Summon Spirit is possessing Colette. She said so herself that this wasn't her intention. Since the elves live for an incredible period of time, I theorize that the Elder will know which Summon Spirit has the ability to take over other people's bodies."

"That's great and all, but how are we going to get to New Heimdall? We can't use the Rheairds." Genis continued.

Raine put her chin in one hand, wondering the exact same thing. The Rheairds that they stole from the Renegade's Base in the Flanoir region eventually broke down over the months from prolonged use, and the Base was destroyed, so any tools required to repair them were long gone. But only one base was decimated. The Sylvarant Base should still be operational. Raine snapped her fingers, taking her hand away from her chin.

"That's it! If we go to the Sylvarant Base, then we should be able to find the utensils necessary to refurbish the Rheairds."

Artemis and Genis gave out a small "Oh!" of sudden understanding. The black-haired boy rubbed his hands together excitedly, a giddy grin spread across his face. He ran ahead of the Sage siblings to the village gate, waving to them impatiently.

"C'mon! Let's go already! The Sylvarant Base in the Triet Desert!"

-Many hours later in the House of Salvation (near Triet)-

"Honestly, Artemis! Genis and I are tired, too, but this is insane!" Raine scolded Artemis, who was sprawled out on the earth, panting for breath.

Genis shook his head.

"We're not even inside the House yet . . ."

Artemis was so out of breath he couldn't even manage a reply.

"You know, Artemis, if you hadn't over exhausted yourself in those earlier battles, you might be able to at least stand right now." Genis told his companion off, folding his arms behind his head.

Artemis, from his position lying on the ground, still hadn't replied. Instead, he reached into one of his vest pockets, withdrawing a fairly large bottle that contained a purple liquid. He removed the cork stopper, downing the concoction in one gulp. In no time, Artemis was back on his feet.

"Rejuvenating potions. You gotta love 'em."

Genis was about to come up with a response, but was prevented from doing so when a series of loud bangs rang out from inside the House of Salvation, followed by the alarmed screams of the people in the building. The three travels all exchanged quick glances at one another before rushing into the dwelling.

"What's going on?!" Artemis yelled, extracting his fighting cards.

Genis unclipped his kendama from his belt, Raine also took up arms by the means of her staff. Artemis surveyed the scene. Countless bodies littered the floor, quite a few of them human bodies, while the others consisted of monsters. _That's strange, _thought Artemis. _How did monsters get inside here? There weren't any monsters outside . . ._ He was distracted from his thoughts when a small grunt announced the presence of another person. He looked at the source of the noise, Raine and Genis following suit. In the corner of the room, a teenage brunette girl was getting to her feet, retracting one of her legs from underneath a monster corpse. The girl's hair was short, (like Mithos') her eyes were an emerald green, sliver-rimmed glasses rested upon her nose, and her outfit consisted of a white short-sleeved shirt, camouflage pants, (like in the army) and buckled to her waist were dual pistol holsters. In her gloved hands she gripped the handles of two silver guns. Artemis walked over to this stranger cautiously.

"Hello, are you all right? What's your name?"

The girl put her guns back in their holsters.

"My name is Satsuma Nightshade. And you are . . .?"

"Artemis Makoto. These two behind me are Genis and Raine Sage. What happened here?" Artemis hurriedly replied, gesturing to all the dead bodies, human or monster.

Satsuma straightened up, folding her arms.

"My younger sister and I were resting here for a brief period of time, when the monsters appeared from the sleeping quarters up above. It seems as though one of the merchants here were keeping some monsters contained to sell off to a professor somewhere. They obviously weren't contained." She explained, shaking her head so that her brunette hair swept about her face.

"So those bangs we heard earlier were your gunfire?" Genis asked.

Satsuma nodded.

"Where is your sister?" Raine inquired.

As if on cue, there was the sound of running feet as another girl that looked to be a few years younger than Satsuma came dashing down the stairwell, clenching two medium sized daggers in each hand. Everyone else turned to face her. The new girl had long brunette hair tied into a ponytail much like Yuan's, her eyes were the brown of tree bark, her bangs were brushed to either side of her face, and she wore a red sleeveless shirt, black pants, and there were two small worn out leather sheaths belted to her waist. The blades of the stilettos she held in either hand were slick with blood, presumably from fighting the monsters that escaped their cages. Satsuma ran up to meet her younger sister.

"Hikaru! Are you all right? Are you hurt?"

A/N: Yes, it's a self-insertion, LIVE WITH IT!!

The girl dubbed Hikaru shook her head, her ponytail swinging about.

"No, Satsuma, I'm okay. But what are we gonna do?"

Raine bit her lower lip, then she had to ask.

"Satsuma . . .Hikaru, I have a question."

Hikaru nodded to Raine.

"So ask it already."

Genis asked before Raine could.

"Um . . . Are you two half-elves? Because we are, too . . ."

Hikaru and Satsuma exchanged quick glances before nodding in agreement.

"Yep . . .we're half-elves . . .and damn proud of it, too!!"

". . .We shouldn't stay here long." Came the vocal chime of Artemis from the door.

Genis gave Artemis an inquisitive look.

"What? Why?"

Raine put out one foot ahead of the other, allowing her feet to carry her over to Artemis.

"I concur with Artemis on this matter. It won't be long until the patrol from Triet comes over to check on the House of Salvation."

"I see. We'll be blamed for this mess. I heard that Triet isn't very fond of half-elves." Genis said, walking up to Raine.

The three of them were in the midst of vacating the House of Salvation when Satsuma's voice stopped them.

"Wait! Will you allow us to accompany you?"

Artemis glanced back at the half-elven sisters, their expressions hopeful.

". . . Fine by me. Genis, Raine, is that all right with you?"

"I don't see why not."

"I coincide."

With that, the now expanded group of five all set off for Triet at a fast pace. Nothing happened until they ran into an unusually powerful bunch of monsters just over the border that separated the desert from the grasslands. Artemis stopped walking, sighting a blur in the whirling sands ahead. Everyone else stopped shortly thereafter.

"Artemis, is anything wrong?" Genis asked.

Artemis failed to answer, because at that precise moment, three large, red-orange tiger monsters with black stripes and unusually long whiskers all dashed out at them. Hikaru sprinted at the first tiger, leaping onto its back, drawing her stilettos and driving them deep into the cat's shoulders. It roared, dropping to the sands on its side. Hikaru yanked her daggers out with a sickening squelching sound, jumping off the tiger just as it rolled over. Genis hurriedly unclipped his kendama, concentrating on a spell.

"Freeze Lancer!"

Multiple daggers made from ice all rained on the tiger approaching Genis. It howled as the ice made contact with its flesh. The third tiger was busying itself with Raine and Satsuma. Satsuma was occupied with taking her guns and shooting the hell out of the monster, whilst Raine used a spell.

"Photon!"

A ring of white light bound the tiger, and then exploded, dealing quite a blow. Artemis squinted his eyes; it was rather difficult to see clearly, with all this accursed sand blowing around all the while, not to mention the extreme heat of the desert wasn't helping one bit. Artemis lunged at the tiger that Genis assailed earlier, his feet sinking slightly in the fine sand grains.

"Hoarfrost Seal!"

Dark blue cards dispersed as a light mist surrounded the monster, forming a large volume of ice, encasing the tiger. Genis followed it up with a spell.

"Indignation!"

The familiar purple lights drifted heaven's way, and then a dome of lightning accompanied a centralized volt, sending a devastating shockwave. The lightning was too much for the tiger to bear. It sank to the earth, dead. The remaining two tigers become more wary. Hikaru made attacking with speed her primary strategy. She rushed in to tiger she originally assaulted, raising her weapons.

"Demon Spear!"

Hikaru swung one of her short swords to unleash a shockwave, and then spiraled to perform a Light Spear attack. As soon as she landed, she performed another attack.

"Tiger Blade!"

Raine unleashed another spell.

"Ray!"

Numerous shafts of white light spread, spearing the monster. It, too, fell after that attack. Hikaru turned to the last tiger.

"Omega Tempest!"

She leapt at the cat-like beast, slicing through the rough flesh, scattering blood and innards. Hikaru landed roughly landed on her feet, staggering a bit. Her comrades all ran out to her, just in case more tigers were around. Raine concentrated on healing the group's injuries.

"Revitalize!"

Satsuma cocked her guns, aiming at a shape walking through the shifting sands. The shape turned out to be none other than . . .

"Colette! What the hell are you doing here?!" Artemis exclaimed, positioning himself to fight.

Colette calmly walked onto the battlefield, a smirk plastered on her face. She clapped lightly as she walked.

"I didn't think you'd be able to handle three of those Ktugatch incarnations . . . But then again, I never thought you'd pick up more allies . . ."

"Skip the pleasantries, Colette! What are you doing here?!" Genis demanded.

Colette sighed, bringing a hand to her forehead.

"Very well. I didn't come with the intention to fight you. I only came to warn you . . .you mustn't go near the Renegade Base, here in Triet."

Raine scoffed, holding her staff in both hands.

"You're only telling us this because we'll be able to repair the Rheairds, and then identify which Summon Spirit you are! I don't know why you chose to pick on Colette . . ."

Colette shook her head, folding her arms, narrowing her blue eyes.

"No, Raine. I do not say this out of concern for myself. In fact, I highly doubt that you will be able to identify me. Going to the Renegade Base will only put you in immense danger."

Hikaru gripped her daggers, shaking her head.

"What do you mean all of a sudden?"

Colette glanced at Hikaru.

"Let's just say . . .the Renegades were working on a project . . .and they failed to control that project. It was being constructed in the Sylvarant Base, and if you go there . . ."

"You're making this up! Yuan would've told us about this project!" Genis interrupted.

"What if I told you that this project was established _after Yuan's demise?_"

The other five all stood, in shocked silence. What the hell was going on?

Hikaru: Yay! I put myself and my sister in this story! Whoohoo. Well, if you review after reading this, I shall send you one of my homemade cupcakes.

Solo (TheVampyreSolo, my sister) : Don't eat it! Her cooking is fatal!

Hikaru: Shut up!! Oh, yeah . . .today was my little sister's ninth birthday!! WISH HER A HAPPY BIRTHDAY OR I SHALL PUNISH YOU!! . . .Please read and review.


	5. Project Nemesis

Hikaru: I guess I should've been clearer. I have three other sisters. My oldest sister, Jen (name changed at request) is 18, my second oldest sister is The Vampyre Solo, who is 15, and my youngest sister, Anne (name also changed at request) is the one who just turned nine years old last chapter. I'm the third one born. But yeah. Sorry about not being clear last chappy.

Lloyd: It's no wonder they got confused.

Hikaru: What's that supposed to mean!?

Lloyd: You know perfectly well what I mean.

Hikaru: You . . .

Solo: Hey, now, let's not start a fight.

Jen: Oh, yeah, this coming from the girl who throws insults at me thrice a day!

Solo: Only to counteract your millions of harmful language!

Hikaru: Whatever! Just, do the disclaimer, somebody!

Anne: I'll do it! My older sister doesn't own ToS, however much she may wish it. Hey, Am—

Hikaru: DON'T USE MY NAME!!!

Anne: Oops.

Satsuma lowered her guns, although she didn't place the appendages into their holsters, as if to keep them ready at a moment's notice.

"Hikaru and I have heard the story about Yuan and the Renegades. I trust that you'll tell us about this _project_?" she asked, putting emphasis on the final word.

Colette cleared her throat.

"I suppose you'll steer clear of it if I tell you. Very well."

The other five waited for the angel to answer. The hot winds of the scorching desert were awfully blistering, and the sand whipped about them, making it rather hard to see clearly without having to shield your eyes every five seconds. Colette rubbed her hands together, wondering why she was going to tell them. Well, the Summon Spirit possessing her wondered. It was the perfect opportunity to get rid of the most prominent risks with what the Spirit wanted to do. But no, the accursed girl that had awoken him kept pestering him about at least warning her friends about the dangers of the Sylvarant Base. Why couldn't the girl's thoughts be blocked out when he possessed her in the first place? Colette sighed in an exasperated tone.

"The plan the remaining Renegades were working on is called Project Nemesis. It was proposed before, but Yuan turned it down, dismissing it as too dangerous."

Hikaru's eyebrow arched skeptically.

"How so?" she asked, daringly, in Artemis' opinion.

Colette folded her arms. So this one was not as ignorant as she appeared. In fact, wasn't she the one that . . .

"Answer me!" Hikaru demanded.

Colette faltered. Was it really she? Nevertheless, she answered her demand.

"Project Nemesis is a biological development. It is a genetically engineered shape shifter, that no one knows the true form of, save its creators. But it's a safe bet the creators are dead, for a good length of time."

Artemis was intrigued. A man-made shape shifter . . .what an accomplishment! However, how could this Summon Spirit know of Nemesis? Assuming that the Summon Spirit had been inhabiting Colette's body for a short time that was impossible. But . . .what if the Spirit didn't possess Colette for a _short time? _Was it entirely probable that this particular Summon Spirit had been playing guest to Colette's body for a long time, choosing to only just now come out? The rough sand swirled around Artemis' feet, bringing him back to Sylvarant from his distant musings. It was time to put his knowledge of genetics to good use.

"Colette," He said, gathering her attention as he pocketed his fighting cards.

"Tell me more about Nemesis' ability to change form. Surely for that to be accomplished, Nemesis would have to have the DNA of the creatures of which it assumes their shape. Am I correct?"

Colette nodded her head in agreement, seemingly impressed.

"Am I impressed. But that may be just because I've got _low _expectations."

Satsuma, Genis, and Hikaru had to put a great effort into restraining Artemis to prevent his attacking Colette.

Colette continued, seeing as how Artemis couldn't attack her.

"Yes, it is as you say. Shape shifting requires the DNA of the shape you would want to shift to. Perchance, if you wanted to assume the shape of a dog, then you would have to do two things. One, acquire the art of shape shifting. Two, you would need the DNA of a dog in your bloodstream to be able to shift to that shape."

Genis was wondering about the absence of Lloyd's usual, "What are you talking about?" or "I don't understand you at all!" That was when he remembered that Lloyd had been dead for more than a few months, and that he was never coming back . . .The little half-elf fought back tears. The absence of Lloyd's dim-witted remarks . . .troubled him, although he failed to concoct a believable explanation of why he felt this way. Instead, he chose to ask the would-be Colette another question.

"Wait a minute. You're our enemy, aren't you? Aren't you opposed to our wishes to know which Summon Spirit you are? So why warn us?"

"That's right. I'd been pondering about that myself." Raine interjected.

Colette absent-mindedly fidgeted with her fingers. Finally, she sighed again.

"Ask her yourself."

Before anyone could ask what the Summon Spirit meant, there was a distortion of her image, as if there were a fire before her. And then, she . . .fell down onto the sand covered earth. Raine rushed to the fallen Colette, alarmed at this sudden behavior. Colette's blue eyes fluttered open, and she gasped, looking herself over and flexing her arms, fingers, and legs. With a happy squeal, she leapt to her feet.

"I can move on my own again!" She exclaimed, tears of joy slipping down her face.

Raine sighed in concealed relief. Colette's voice was back to normal. There wasn't a hint of the young man's voice that previously cased the angel's voice before. Be that as it may, when will the Spirit reveal itself again? Her stray thoughts were interrupted as Hikaru dashed out toward Colette. She stopped when she stood just before her, extending a hand.

"Hi! My name's Hikaru. Nice to meet you, Colette!"

Satsuma groaned. Being possessed by an unknown Summon Spirit, and the danger of it happening again would not dull Hikaru's friendly disposition. How many times must she warn her, to trust no one but herself on these kinds of occasions? Of course, even herself, Hikaru's own older sister, was no exception. Especially with what happened to them before, half a year ago, Satsuma was surprised that Hikaru had still maintained that affable character. No, not surprised, astounded. Just what was her little sister thinking underneath all that cheeriness? Satsuma stopped musing when Colette, in her normal speech, began to speak loudly.

"All of you, stay away from the Sylvarant Base! It's too dangerous! Nemesis is a deadly shape shifter that you won't recognize! M—"

After that, the Summon Spirit took over Colette's body again, preventing her from finishing the last bit. The Summon Spirit stumbled from having to regain control over the angelic blonde so quickly. Raine thwacked Colette upside the head. A sharp SMACK was heard.

"You didn't let Colette finish!" Raine's voice was overflowing with rage.

Colette sneered at the half-elven teacher.

"At any rate, you now know why I've told you about Nemesis. If you happen to have doubts and go there anyway . . .well, just don't say I didn't warn you."

And with that last farewell, Colette's transparent wings unfurled, carrying her into the skies, far beyond the other's reach.

Artemis sighed, putting a hand to his forehead to shield his eyes from the ever-blowing sands of Triet.

"Well, what do you reckon we should do?"

Raine stared, starry-eyed, at the pale blue sky, where she saw a small dot that was Colette flying through it. Through it, and out of sight. Hikaru was looking pensive, sheathing her twin blades. Satsuma had holstered her guns, taking off her silver-rimmed glasses and using a corner of her shirt to wipe them clean. Genis was casting his eyes about the desert, probably thinking about certain matters as well. What had Colette meant to say that began with the letter "m"?

Many theories came to mind, each as uncertain as the next. All of a sudden, Genis thought of something rather random.

"Hey . . .what happened to Noishe?"

Raine turned around to face her little brother, a startled expression gracing her features. What had happened to Noishe?

"The last I remember of Noishe is at Altessa's place, when Lloyd was struck with the Angel Toxicosis. What happened to him after we left it?" Genis continued, a hand to his chin. Raine racked her brain for memories of the Protozoan. She, too, had no further recalls of the "dog" aside from the memory at Altessa's, when Noishe had been howling out in the rain. She shook her head, distraught by the abrupt mention of Lloyd's missing pet.

"That's not important right now. I assume he's safe, somewhere in Sylvarant or Tethe'alla, but we need to investigate Project Nemesis."

Hikaru, Artemis, and Satsuma nodded in unison.

"Yes, let's do that." Hikaru said, voice filled to the brim with confidence.

"Then it's decided." Raine announced, taking the frontal leader's position of the group. She began leading the band of half-elves (excluding Artemis) to the direction of the Sylvarant Renegade Base. Artemis didn't say anything to object, but he had . . .misgivings. Despite that, he dogged Hikaru's footsteps, at the rear of the group. Genis was walking beside Raine, Satsuma behind them, and Hikaru beside her older sister. They trudged on through the harsh winds, their feet scuffing up the bed of sand, which got shallow and then deeper with each passing shifting wind. The desert sun's heat beat down on the company, some members of which tiring rather quickly. In this case, it was Hikaru. She lagged behind to the rear of the band, although no noise of complaint escaped her lips. In fact, nobody except Satsuma noticed Hikaru's presumed absence. She stopped walking, looking over the group for her younger sister. She sighed with either exasperation or relief, which one wasn't clear, but nevertheless, she strode on to Hikaru, grabbed her arm, and half-dragged her up to the middle of the troop.

"Satsuma," Hikaru groaned as she was pulled on.

Satsuma's glasses slid down the bridge of her nose in the blurry heat. She used her index finger to push the spectacles into place. Her slightly pointed half-elven ears perked as Hikaru said something else.

"Sis, can't you just—"

Satsuma whipped around, her green eyes giving Hikaru a meaningful stare.

"No, Hikaru, you know full well I can't. Not with everybody here."

Hikaru refused to lose to the argument.

"Then why are we traveling with these people in the first place?"

"Because," Satsuma said through clenched teeth, "we don't want those Tethe'allans catching us. They think we're traveling alone."

"And besides," She continued, turning around to face the back of Raine's head as they all advanced on.

"That would blow our cover ground if we did do that, Hikaru."

Hikaru sighed, knowing that her sister was right. The last time they did that, a whole city freaked out and tried to capture them. And it was just to freaking help them! No one appreciated good help when it came to them. She stopped thinking about those matters when Raine announced, "Okay, here's the base."

Hikaru peered through the swirling sands. A large building, dark cerulean and roughly the shape of a dome, loomed before them. It was rather tall, but Hikaru thought it was merely to be expected. It was a base, after all. The five of them walked up some platinum steps that led into the building. Hikaru, among the others, sighed with evident relief as the electric door slid shut behind them. Air conditioning. What a wonderful invention. Raine surveyed the entrance hall. It was a closed surrounding, so to speak, with four ringed poles staged at the corners of the room. There was only one other door that led deeper into the facility. The base felt . . .deserted, somehow. As if nobody were there but them. Even so, the base seemed to be up and running, doing strangely well on its own. Almost half a year after Yuan's demise, this base managed to keep itself? Raine thought this was suspicious. If what Colette said was true about no one being on this base, then why was the power still running? Surely, half a year without maintenance would render this building at least on extremely low power, if not powerless? Yet, everything seemed up to date, the way Yuan would prefer it be kept. Raine extended a hand to one of the walls, scraping at the metallic surface with her nails. She inspected the wall after removing her hand. No layer of dust, no flakes of aged metal floating to the floor. Everything up to date. Raine turned to the rest of the group.

"It seems all right so far. Let's go in deeper."

She waited until everyone nodded in agreement. Raine turned her back to her comrades, leading them through the next sliding door. She looked around. They were in the large, circular cycle lock system room. The giant purple cube in the center of the floor was completely still. It appeared as though this particular system hadn't been used in a while. Raine began walking toward the cube to study it, when Genis called out.

"Raine!"

The half-elf turned around to her little brother. He was pointing to the ceiling. Raine automatically glanced skywards, as did everyone else. The long, cylindrical lights were blinking on and off. Raine was about to question the significance of a faulty light, when she spotted it. There was a . . .shimmering on the ceiling, between the lights. She now understood that Genis wasn't gesturing to the lights, but to the shimmering. It shone rather akin to clear water. Raine's eyes traveled the whole of the ceiling. The entirety of the upper level seemed to be glittering like water. But there wasn't any water on the floor. Every single light guttered out, throwing the whole room into pitch black. Raine tried to call out, but she couldn't. When the lights were restored, Raine found herself in the same room as before, but she was alone. The shimmering was gone. Raine whirled around when she heard a noise. Her eyes widened in shock. She held on to only one thought before the darkness took her.

_Don't say I didn't warn you._


	6. Tricks of the Trade

Hikaru: I want to thank the FEW readers that reviewed the last chapter of Ashes to Ashes. Thank you so much! Now I feel the need to continue! By the way . . .I couldn't update for the past week or so because I caught a cold . . .I'm feeling SO much better now and I can continue writing. Bleh. NyQuil and DayQuil taste hella nasty.

Raine: If it weren't for those medicines, you would still be lying around in bed, listening to Good Charlotte and having a garbage bag and a box of tissues keeping you company.

Hikaru: Hey! I enjoy The Chronicles of Life and Death thank you very much!

Lloyd: But you hate being sick . . .especially the common cold!

Kratos: Not to mention you should count yourself lucky for being sick on a weekend . . .otherwise, you would be stuck doing makeup schoolwork day in and day out.

Hikaru: Oh, yes, the very people scolding me are the people that completely SNUBBED me while I was sick in bed!

Cloud: Yeah! She even stopped playing ToS and played FFVII to keep her company!

Lloyd: What! No way!

Hikaru: Cloud's right. I played Final Fantasy 7 for the last few days and ignored ToS.

Lloyd/Kratos: HIKARU!!

Hikaru: Can you blame me? I've been eager to play that game ever since I saw Cloud and Sephiroth on Kingdom Hearts!

Solo: And I played Sonic the Hedgehog on our GameCube! I had to be Tails for seven years of my life, NOW I'M GONNA BE SONIC!!

Hikaru: But we're not talking about you and Mom playing the SEGA Sonic games . . .

Solo: . . .Aren't you going to bully some poor, innocent muse into doing the disclaimer?

Hikaru: . . .Uh . . .yeah! Hey, Cloud! Why don't you do it?

Cloud: I don't wanna! Make Sephiroth do it!

Sephiroth: Hey! Just because I'm evil, not human, and insane, doesn't mean you can pick on me!

Hikaru: Sephiroth can do it next chapter. Do it, Cloud!

Cloud: Fine. Hikaru doesn't own ToS. Nor does she own FF7, Sonic the Hedgehog, GC, or any of the other franchises mentioned in this disclaimer.

Hikaru: Okay, ON WITH THE STORY! . . .and I'll play more FF7 . . .

Lloyd/Kratos: HIKARU!!

_Don't say I didn't warn you . . ._

When Raine awoke once more, she was still in the cycle lock system room, and still alone. She groaned, lying face down on the cold metallic floor, staff clutched tightly in her right hand. She pulled herself off the floor, pressing a hand to her forehead, which ached slightly. She sat upright, recalling what she had seen just before she lost consciousness. She thought she saw . . .no, that's absurd, it just wasn't possible. The half-elven teacher rose to her feet, looking around the near-empty room. Her gaze fell upon the computer that controlled the cycle lock system. Of course. The first logical action to take would be to search the base for her missing comrades. And the first place to look would have to be the control room. With its mechanisms, it should be able to display every room in the base with a projector, which would mean easy party location. Raine walked over to the computer, hearing its low, distant hums. She expertly operated the machine with one hand, the other still gripping her wooden staff.

"Let's unlock the passage to the control room . . ."

She pressed a fair number of buttons on the keyboard. Her slightly pointed ears picked up the sound of an electric door lock being disengaged. Yes. Raine dashed to the door directly ahead of her. Fortunately, it slid open to admit her without any reservation. Raine dared to hope. She rushed up the steps, rounded a left, and turned a right, straight through another door that slid apart to be out of her way. The control room was dark. Raine failed to hear the mechanical hums that signaled that the computers were functioning properly. She ran a hand along the wall nearest to her, and her fingers found a set of square switches. Paydirt. She pressed the key for the lights. And cried out in despair. For when the lights flickered on, Raine viewed the status of the control room. It was an absolute disaster. The computer monitors that were supposed to be built into the walls were ripped away from them, thrown onto the floor in an untidy mechanical heap. Raine glanced up at the ceiling. The tiles were absent; she could see thick and thin electric cables alike, dissected and torn apart, some of them hanging low from the ceiling. Raine swore under her breath. What happened to the control room? A chill jolted down Raine's spine. She felt unsafe. There was danger abroad. Raine turned on her heel, dashing out of the now worthless control room, quickly thinking of where she should look for her allies next. Maybe the prison room? All right, just get the hell out of here! Raine sprinted through the next series of doors, each one opening flawlessly. Raine thought about that shimmering she and the others witnessed prior to getting separated. What was it? Could it have been Nemesis, the deadly shape shifter? Most likely, yes. Raine couldn't help but to think that her loud footsteps clanging on the metal floor would attract Nemesis' attention, not to mention any other enemies, should they hear it. She stopped running. She was in the prison hall. And sure enough, there was a person in one of the cells. Raine ran up to greet whoever it was.

"Genis! Are you all right? Are you hurt?"

Genis, who was sitting on the floor, got to his feet, shaking his head at his older sister.

"No, Raine, I'm fine. Just imprisoned and a little shaken."

He walked up to the barred door, pointing at the lock.

"Hey, Raine, can you open the lock?"

Raine's eyes followed Genis' gesture, and found the lock he was speaking of. She examined it for a bit.

"It's a magitechnology lock." She said, half to herself.

Within minutes, the barred metal door laid open before the orange-clad teacher. Genis stepped out of the cell, taking a standing spot beside his older sister. Which happened to be a mistake. When the Sage siblings about faced, they spotted a magitechnology fighter machine standing, or rather, floating, at the opposing end of the holding cell hall. Raine recognized the machine as the Perfect Murder model. Oh, shit. Just perfect. In a spur of quick thinking, Raine shoved her little brother back into the cell from whence he came, hastily closing and locking the barred door. Genis ran up to the door, gripping the bars with his hands.

"Raine! What the hell do you think you're doing?" He shouted.

Raine didn't answer Genis' question, but replied nonetheless.

"Genis! Stay back!"

Genis nodded, shrinking away to the rear wall of the cell. However, he drew his kendama as he did so. Raine retreated to the end of the hallway, holding her staff horizontally in preparation of spell casting. She also gripped in her left hand, the Mystic Symbol. In merely a few seconds, her spell was cast.

"Holy Lance!"

White prism lances pierced the machine, which floated forward, guns extending. Raine decided she'd better try again. This time, Genis beat her to it.

"Spark Wave!"

A condensed ball of lightning shocked the robotic fighter, temporarily immobilizing it. Raine risked a glance at her younger brother, who sported a wide grin. His proud expression clearly said, "Just because you've locked me away, doesn't mean I can't help." Truth be told, Raine was quite grateful for his assistance. She cast another spell, raising her staff.

"Ray!"

Multiple rays of white light condensed and rained down upon the machine, which fell apart shortly after the attack. Raine sighed in evident relief. She went over to Genis' cell, unlocking it. Genis walked out of it yet again, still holding his kendama. He looked left and right, perplexed.

"Where're the others?"

Raine shook her head, no.

"Haven't found them yet."

Genis rubbed the back of his head, perhaps disappointed. Raine found that there wasn't time to be standing around. There was work to be done. The Sage siblings both ran out of the hall, heading into the cycle lock system room. As they left in their haste, they failed to realize that, above the three cells, an air duct was open, and in it lay something that resembled light blue gel. It dripped down onto the floor, and when all of it was present, it arranged itself into the shape of a person. This . . .thing smirked, looking after the half-elven siblings.

Before long, Raine and Genis were back into the cycle lock system room, and had changed the Sorcerer's Ring so it would be able to conduct electricity. When Genis questioned as to why they did, Raine answered that they should check every room on the base, and she meant every room. Raine stood at the computer, scrolling down the menu. It would be easier to check the entrance, the Rheaird hangar, and the labyrinth passageway first. She selected the "entrance" option on the computer. She felt the floor below her feet vibrate, as if it were moving, which it probably was. The lights blinked green.

"Passage to entrance open." A monotone mechanical voice said. Raine looked at Genis, who got the message. He ran to the rear door, running through it. Raine really hated to let Genis go alone, but someone had to stay here. If the machine fighters were still operational, that must mean that there was at least one person who was able to operate machinery. Someone had to stay here to make sure that person or persons didn't switch the rooms around on them. Raine looked up from the computer screen when she heard the sound of another door opening. She looked to the door on her right. The person that entered wasn't whom she had been expecting.

When the door slid shut behind Genis, he knew he was on his own until he got back, or found another party member. He walked the entrance hall. Empty. He sighed in exasperation, turned around to go back, when something stopped him. The pillars seemed strange this time around. They seemed to glow, as if pulsing with energy. Genis got the clue. He aimed the Sorcerer's Ring at one of the pillars, and willed it to activate. The jewel studded on the metal circle of the Ring emitted a small, but thick, sphere of lightning, which hit the pillar. Genis heard the cylindrical structure absorb the shock, channeling the electricity. Nothing happened. The puzzle pieces in his mind clicked together, in a fitting union. Genis repeated the Sorcerer's Ring process, except he tried it on the other three pillars. Bingo. The imaginary square that the four pillars marked the corners of bordered with blue electrical energy, and the large section of the floor slid back to reveal a hidden stairwell. Genis beamed. Oh, yes. Without further ado, Genis ambled down the steps, oblivious to any danger this new room may possess. The stairway didn't have any lights, so it was thrown into absolute darkness. That wasn't too much of a bother to Genis. He just put one hand on one of the walls while carefully traveling down the stairs. He walked on for what seemed like an eternity, when he came to a large, spacious room that all housed relatively bright lights. Genis groaned, shielding his eyes from the harsh glare. When his eyes adjusted to the outburst of light, he gasped. In this area, it closely resembled the Exsphere manufacturing facility in the Asgard Ranch. Similar, but different somehow. Attached in neat rows along the walls, cylindrical tanks were hung, each and every one containing a different type of an adolescent tree. Genis scratched the back of his head. Trees? What for? His head swiftly turned to the right as he heard a familiar female shout. He ran in the direction of the shout, yelling her name.

"Hikaru! Hikaru! Answer me!"

Raine stood, transfixed, staring at the man that had just entered. Slowly, she uttered his name.

"Kratos . . .?" She whispered.

The purple-clad angel nodded in silence. His eyes seemed distant, unfocused. Raine overlooked this little detail and ran forward up to the live Kratos, unable to believe it. She threw her arms around him, burying her face into his chest. She shed many tears.

"Kratos . . .how? I thought you'd died . . ." she choked.

Kratos' lips formed words. Words that confounded Raine.

"I am dead."

Raine looked up at Kratos, baffled. The angel shoved her away, quite violently, in her opinion. He held her at arm's length, by the shoulders.

"But . . .you're here now. You're alive, breathing, right here before me!" Raine whispered, touching his wrist with both her hands.

"And . . .solid flesh and blood . . ."

Kratos shook his head, his burgundy hair sweeping to and fro.

"I'm not alive. I'm dead."

"What are you—" Raine began.

Kratos then pushed the half-elven woman back forcibly, so that she fell down. He drew his sword, assuming a battle stance. Raine gripped her staff as she rose to her feet once more.

"Kratos? What are you doing?" She asked, genuinely confused.

Raine cast a defensive spell in case Kratos meant to harm her. She refused to believe that, but it was the logical thing to do.

"Barrier!" She shouted.

Kratos took a step backward, raising his sword, glaring cruelly at Raine. Raine recognized that position. He was going to cast a spell. She quickly reached into her pocket, withdrawing a useful type of lens. The All-Divide took effect immediately, Raine knew, when she felt another shield form in front of her. Kratos paid this no heed. He only proceeded with his offensive measure.

"This is for the assumption that I could only forget Anna because you were there! Grave!"

Raine hastily leapt to her left, just in time to avoid the wickedly sharp slabs of stone shooting upwards. She realized that, in order to keep her life, she must fight back. She didn't want to. Only one thing made her attack him in turn. And that thought was, "I can't die yet. Genis still needs me!" She held her staff for a brief moment.

"Photon!"

A yellow circle framed with white light bound Kratos shortly before imploding, which sent Kratos falling to the floor. He quickly regained his previous status, running toward Raine. She knew there wasn't enough time to cast another spell, even with the Mystic Symbol. She did the only thing she could. She held up her staff in an attempt to block the oncoming sword attack. A steel sword versus a piece of wood used to channel magic. What were the odds . . .?

Genis never let up during his run, in hopes of reaching one of his new friends in time before something bad happened to her. He ran up some stairs, toward the conveyer belt system. There, huddled next to the still conveyer, upon which rested empty hexagonal glass containers, was Hikaru, twin swords lying at her feet. Genis bent down on one knee, placing his hand on Hikaru's shoulder. She seemed unharmed, so why did she scream? Hikaru turned her head to look at him. She seemed to relax. But only a little bit.

"Oh, it's you, Genis." She said in a low, monotone voice.

Genis arched an eyebrow.

"Why did you yell earlier? You look fine to me."

Hikaru abruptly stood, startling Genis. She pointed to one of the adolescent trees lined along the wall.

"Watch," She said.

Genis watched. What he saw amazed him. Hikaru extended both her hands, channeling magic. The tree in the glass container began to grow at a rapid pace. Eventually, it broke through its prison, and quickly became overgrown. Genis was dumbfounded. Not even the elves can perform magic such as this!

"Hikaru . . .how . . .?" He muttered, taking an involuntary step back.

She turned to face him. She removed the glove covering her right hand, showing her fist to the little half-elf before her. Resting, embedded in the top of her hand, was a bright green leaf-shaped crystal, which was pulsing with energy. Genis gaped in awe.

"Wow . . .what is that? It's not an Exsphere . . ."

Hikaru shook her head.

"No, it's not an Exsphere. But it works the same way."

She replaced the glove, scooping up her fallen weapons. She sheathed the swords, walking away from Genis, toward another one of the trees. Genis dogged her footsteps, eager to know more.

"So, it gives you the ability to grow trees like that?"

"Yes. But the process was new, and took a great deal of time to accomplish."

Genis ran forward, falling in step with Hikaru. He wanted to know more.

"So, how does the process work?"

Hikaru narrowed her eyes in anger. She folded her arms and stopped walking.

"Only the same way the Desians awakened Exspheres and Cruxis Crystals!"

Genis stood beside her. He was confused. He wanted to help, but how? She said it was the same way Desians made Exspheres. Did that mean that Hikaru was a host body for this project?

"Wait, so you were a host body for this . . .thing?"

"To be honest, yes. When the Cruxis still thrived, Yuan and the rest of the Renegades were searching for a way to revive the Giant Kharlan Tree. Satsuma and I were born in Luin, but our parents ran from the town shortly after that. So, we were a traveling family. My mother was human. She was taken to one of the Human Ranches as a host body. No doubt she's dead by now. My father, an elf, is still alive, but I don't know where he is. Last I heard of him, he was somewhere in the Triet desert. Anyway, the four of us were fleeing from Luin because Satsuma and I are half-elves. Unfortunately, the Desians were delivering some cargo to the Asgard Ranch, and, as you can predict, they caught us when we tried to sneak past them. That's when they took Mother. That was when I was nine, and Satsuma eleven. My father attempted to bargain with the Desian troops, but they merely turned him down. In other words, they took us all to the Asgard Ranch. Since those of elven blood were useless as Exsphere host bodies, my father, sister, and I were forced to do various chores such as healing wounded troops, weapon and armor maintenance, and the usual stuff. That was five years ago. We were held at the ranch for three years. During the summer of the fourth year, the remaining members of our family met Yuan. He was at the Asgard Ranch to search for half-elves to use in some experiment. He obviously heard that Kvar had some spare ones, hence his visit. Yuan took Satsuma and me, leaving Dad with Kvar." Hikaru explained, shifting a bit. Genis was piecing the clues together. He folded his arms, tapping his foot.

"Lemme guess. Yuan used you and Satsuma?"

Hikaru nodded, sitting down on the cold metallic floor.

"Satsuma wasn't compatible with what Yuan wanted to do. I matched the compatibility test, so, I was to be used."

Genis made an angry face. So Yuan ate his own words. He said the Renegades were opposed to the Cruxis, yet he did the same horrible things they did. What a damned hypocrite. Then he was hit by a question.

"But what did Yuan plan to do with you and your sister?" He demanded.

Hikaru stood up again, taking a seat on one of the empty hexagonal glass containers sitting on the neutral conveyer belt.

"I overheard Yuan saying that if the Great Seed is dead by the time he reached it, then it will all be over. He also said that he obtained the seed's DNA structure, along with its mana producing properties. If they could engineer another Giant Tree, then it would be a simple matter to use the Mana Cannon to destroy the Tower of Salvation and allow either the artificial or real Great Seed to sprout. That's where I came in."

Genis snapped his fingers. He placed his hands on his hips, his brow furrowed.

"Don't tell me Yuan thought that in order to reproduce the Tree, he had to fuse you with it, like Martel was . . ."

Hikaru nodded, gravely. She folded her hands, pressing them against her forehead.

"That was only half of it. I was held in captivity until Yuan finally succeeded in creating the artificial Great Seed. This Exsphere-like crystal . . ." She held up her right hand, where, through the glove, Genis could see the green glow.

" . . .was cultured on me. Within it is the gathered mana of the Giant Kharlan Tree. Yuan theorized that in order to fuse me with it, I had to be the one to breathe life into the artificial Seed."

Genis nodded, tilting his head upward as his mind absorbed the facts. He was beginning to understand it.

"In other words, to trade your mana and life for the life of the artificial Great Seed?"

"Yes. But the day I was to grow the Tree, everything went horribly wrong."

A/N: These squiggly lines indicate a flashback and parentheses mark dialogue in the present by myself and Genis while I'm explaining it.

Renegade soldiers scattered all over the manufacturing plant. In the center of it lay a large, circular patch of fertile soil, beneath which was the artificial Great Seed buried in its depths. Yuan himself took a young girl the age of twelve to the growing site, so it was called. He instructed her to focus her mana and power into growing the Giant Tree.

"Hikaru, all you have to do is focus your magic on the seed, and will it to grow."

(Genis: But why in this plant? Didn't they need to destroy the Tower of Salvation first?)

(Hikaru: Yuan wanted to be prepared before then.)

Hikaru nervously nodded, stretching her hands toward the soil patch. She pushed her magic out, visualizing the Seed to sprout. Nothing happened for a moment. Then, she saw a sapling emerge from the soil. It continued growing, from young, adolescent, and finally, the equivalent of a normal adult tree. But it didn't stop growing. It grew so much larger, so very quickly; Hikaru became scared. She recoiled back, flinching. Yuan was outraged.

"No, Hikaru! The tree . . .Don't back down!"

It was too late. The tree broke free of Hikaru's control, and continued growing. Its gigantic tree roots broke through the metal flooring, wrapping themselves around inanimate objects as well as people. Yuan teleported out of the room, leaving the other Renegades and Hikaru to perish.

Sighing, Hikaru leapt off the conveyer belt, Genis following her. She led him throughout the manufacturing plant, until the duo encountered a titanic tree, but it was withered and dead. In this area, it resembled the hall of the Great Seed in the Tower of Salvation. Large snake like tree roots were wound around virtually everything in this chamber. Genis gawked; there were even humanoid skeletons, in the hundreds near the giant tree! Hikaru carefully stepped over the large tree roots, resting both her hands on the artificial Giant Tree's trunk.

"Yuan cultured this Exsphere crystal on me here. The test took place here, everything that had to do with this plan. The reason this tree went out of control is that the mana I was feeding into it was greatly affected by my fear of the tree. That's why all those Renegades died. But I wasn't sorry. It served them right."

Genis shook his head sadly. He had no idea such a thing happened to Hikaru and the Renegades. Yet, Yuan said nothing of it. Like he was trying to keep it a secret. Genis sighed. He was about to say something else when he sighted someone walking toward them directly ahead. His jaw dropped. He tugged on Hikaru's arm, pointing forward.

"H-Hikaru . . ." His voice trembled with fear. Hikaru turned to look at what he was pointing at. She gasped loudly, her voice rasp.

Raine leapt backward just in time to avoid a fatal sword slash from Kratos. She raised her staff.

"Prism Sword!"

A transparent prism sword accompanied four rays of light as they all fell upon Kratos. The angel used his Guardian technique, which did little to nullify the damage. He moved on the offensive.

"Double Demon Fang!" He shouted.

As you all know, Raine couldn't dodge very well. She merely braced for the attack. It never came. She opened her eyes again, and gasped. Standing before her, using his defensive technique, was Artemis, battle cards drawn. He smirked.

"You're right. You are dead, so you can't be Kratos!"

He sprinted forward, his cards floating about him as he executed an attack.

"Serpent Seal Pinion!"

Black mist obscured Kratos' form, interfering with his accuracy. Artemis didn't let up.

"Holy Seal!"

Kratos was knocked down, dark beams eating at his body.

A/N: Hey, angels are holy, right?

Raine gasped in surprise at what she and Artemis witnessed. Kratos' body lost its humanoid appearance, turning a sky blue and becoming more gel like. In due time, the gel formed into the shape of an animal Raine knew only too well.

"Noishe?" She shouted, confused. But as the animal finished shape shifting, she saw that the appearance was the same, but the color was different. This version of Noishe was silver all right, but the splashes on its fur that were supposed to be green were red, and the paws black. Another Protozoan. Artemis shook his head. He prepared to attack again. But he didn't. At that moment, three rings of fire flew out of nowhere and sliced through the Noishe impersonator, killing it. Artemis groaned. Sure enough, behind the deceased Noishe look alike, stood none other than Colette, wings glimmering and all. Raine was outraged.

"What the hell are you doing here, vile Summon Spirit?!" She demanded.

Colette huffed.

"Look, just because you're my enemy, doesn't mean the whole world is! If Nemesis gets out of this base . . ."

"Save it. Tell us why you killed that thing." Artemis spat.

Colette knelt down next to the Protozoan body, inspecting it.

"Just as I thought. This isn't Nemesis. Still a shape shifter, though. This is Nemesis' spawn."

Artemis gasped.

"Nemesis can reproduce asexually!?"

Colette nodded.

"The process has already begun."

"Wait. . .how do you know all this?" Raine asked.

Colette sighed.

"I'm a Summon Spirit, remember? And it just so happens that Nemesis has my DNA. Since I'm a Summon Spirit, I know what it's doing. Does that make sense?"

Artemis and Raine nodded in silent agreement. This base was riddled with danger. Raine realized something then.

"Oh no . . .How many Nemespawn are there?"

Colette considered for a moment prior to responding.

"Quite a few. I lost count after the first dozen or so. Why?"

"Because Satsuma, Genis, and Hikaru are still alone in this base."

Artemis groaned, pressing a hand to his forehead. Goddess help him. He heaved a sigh, looking over the dead Protozoan body that was a Nemespawn. Just blasted perfect. He turned to Raine.

"Where did you see him last?"

"I sent him just over there to look for the rest of our party." Raine answered, gesturing to the door she had Genis go through. Without another word, Artemis ran through it. Raine dogged his footsteps. After a moment of consideration, Colette followed suit. Artemis didn't know just how much danger Genis and Hikaru were in.

Hikaru and Genis each slowly backed away from the person they all knew only too well. The cerulean hair, the black and red armor, the blasted cape . . .Yuan. Genis was scared for one reason. Hikaru was frightened for quite a different one. She didn't know Yuan was murdered recently. She feared that Yuan had come back to punish her for killing all those Renegades, not to mention she failed to control the artificial Giant Tree. Genis thought he had been resurrected as the living dead . . .or something along those lines. Yuan smirked, folding his arms across his chest. He glanced at Hikaru.

"So, recalling the dead tree you failed to control?" He sneered. Hikaru became angry, balling up her hands into fists.

"Shut up, bastard! You deserved it! You tried to have me killed in exchange for the Tree!"

Yuan frowned, arms lowering to his sides. He looked at Hikaru idly.

"Your sacrifice would have saved the two worlds, should the original Giant Tree have died. But no, your control over it was shaken."

Yuan extended a hand, a sphere of purple lightning condensing in it.

"Here's your . . ."

The sphere of lightning shot from the palm of Yuan's hand, directly at Hikaru. She flinched, right before she was struck. Yuan wasn't finished yet. His purple angel wings appeared, lifting him into the air.

" . . .punishment . . .Indignant Judgment!"

The force of the impact sent Hikaru flying into the trunk of the dead Giant Tree. Genis gasped, running over to her weak form.

"Hikaru! Hold still!" He said upon arriving by her side.

Hikaru slumped down to the floor, leaning back against the tree trunk. Genis put his hands on her shoulders, concentrating. Come on, Genis thought. Don't let all those lessons with Raine be for nothing. . .

"Heal," Genis breathed.

The bright blue flares of light washed up and over Hikaru's body, healing the many bruises Yuan had dealt her. Speaking of Yuan, he was floating in the air not too far away from them, casting his next offensive spell. Rays of light mingled with lightning rained down upon the two young half-elves, causing quite an explosion. Unfortunately for Yuan, Genis had used Force Field, which nullified some of the damage. Yuan landed on the ground, which was uneven due to the gargantuan tree roots scattered about it. He held out his hand again. A double-edged sword materialized within his palm, weighing it down a bit. With a battle cry, the blue-haired angel rushed forward. He would have attacked had it not been for a flurry of gunfire that prevented his harming Genis and Hikaru.

"You'll not harm them!"

Hikaru, Genis, and Yuan all glanced skyward. Perched among the innumerable bare tree branches crouched Satsuma, pistols drawn, aiming at Yuan. Satsuma stood, one of her arms crooked around a tree branch. She aimed her free gun at Yuan.

"Deluge and drown! Waterga!"

Suddenly, a column of water shot up and engulfed Yuan for a moment before falling down. Yuan was soaked, coughing up the water. Satsuma smiled.

"Hear my call! Mana, fuse with the power of Undine and give birth to the water's dragon!"

Genis looked from Satsuma to Yuan. The water that had flooded Yuan before floated up from the ground, forming together to shape as a dragon. Genis felt enormous mana welling up. Was Satsuma conjuring a monster, just like the guardian of the seals? It seemed so. The dragon, composed entirely of water, rose to attack Yuan. Yuan smirked. He cast an electric spell on it.

"Thunder Blade!"

The blade of lightning stabbed right through the water dragon, but it didn't have any profound effect. Yuan was dumbfounded.

"What? Water conducts electricity!"

Satsuma wagged a finger in his direction, as if she were scolding a misbehaving child.

"Pure water isn't an electrolyte. For water to become an electrolyte, it must have an ion of either sodium positive or chlorine negative fused with it. Didn't you pay attention to your science teacher?"

The water dragon roared, tackling Yuan. The water pressure crushed him. He drowned within a minute. Satsuma climbed down the tree to inspect Yuan's dead body. She dismissed the water dragon. It evaporated at her whim.

"Genis!"

The three half-elves turned around. Raine, headed by Artemis, followed by Colette, were all running toward them. Colette immediately flew over to the dead Yuan, examining his body. Genis ran to meet his sister. After a brief explanation of what happened, the Summon Spirit possessing Colette spoke.

"This one's a Nemespawn as well."

Artemis looked at Colette. Colette didn't change her position.

"Apparently, the Renegades that created Nemesis gave it not only my DNA, but Kratos' and Yuan's as well. It may even have your DNA, Raine, along with the other seven members of your group when you saved the two worlds."

Colette stood, turning to face all of the other people, folding her arms.

"It appears that Nemesis has all the tricks of the trade, so it's time to break a few."

Hikaru: Whew! What a long chapter! I hope this satisfies you all! Please read and review!


	7. Trepidation and Hesitation

Hikaru: Thanks for your compliments and thoughts last chapter! SilverWings3, I really like your story so far but I couldn't review because of a couple of factors: schoolwork, homework, and chores. And sometimes I forget. Oh, Sephiroth!

Sephiroth: Way ahead of you, Hikaru. If Hikaru owned ToS, I'll eat my sword . . .which ought to be quite painful . . .

Hikaru: Wow! Now I really wish I owned it!

Sephiroth: I value my throat, thank you very much.

_It looks like Nemesis has all the tricks of the trade, so it's time to break a few._

Artemis huffed angrily. With all the Nemespawn running around, how in the hell are they going to find the original Nemesis? The Summon Spirit that was possessing Colette had said that there was over a dozen. And there were more yet to come. And to make matters worse, they had only found two of the Nemespawn. Two! This Goddessdamned base was overrun with them! The problem was, they failed to see them coming. Artemis had suggested before they carried out this plan that they just set a bomb to the base and be done with it. However, Raine had said that they still had yet to repair their Rheairds. Artemis argued that he didn't care about that anymore; that it didn't matter how long it took them to get to New Heimdall, because their lives are in danger as long as they stay here. Raine retorted that they weren't here just for the Rheairds anymore; if Nemesis and its spawn escaped this base, the world may just as well be done for. How could anyone argue with that kind of logic? So Raine, making use of the Summon Spirit residing in Colette's body's knowledge of Nemesis, devised a plan. Including Colette, there were six members of the group. They were to divide into three groups of two people each, and scour every corner of the Renegade base to exterminate the Nemespawns. Hopefully they'll get Nemesis along the way. The groups were like so: Artemis and Genis, Raine and Hikaru, and Colette and Satsuma. Satsuma's little group was the only one without a healer, but they assured their comrades they would be just fine. After all, Colette's body hosted an almighty Summon Spirit, and Satsuma could manipulate the power of water. Genis and Raine questioned their abilities, but they insisted they could save the chitchat for later, when the time was appropriate.

Artemis groaned for what seemed to be the millionth time in this story, for he was ever so exasperated. How he wished the authoress could think of better ways to express the character's distress. But then, nobody can blame the authoress because she still has that accursed cold. Anyway, he and Genis were (did any of you readers notice how many times I use the word "and" every few sentences?) searching the Rheaird hangar for both the Nemespawn plus the Rheaird maintenance tools. On the way to the hangar, the two boys had already eliminated more than five Nemespawn. That wasn't to say it wasn't difficult. Genis, still a novice in healing arts, was drained of his magic by the time they made the trip's half point. He asked Artemis more than once to freaking move to dodge an enemy's blow. But no, he just had to get all rigid and attempt to block the attack for the proud bastard he was. Genis' voice pulled Artemis from his deep thoughts.

"Hey, Artemis, have you found any Rheaird tools yet?"

Artemis glanced at the box he was going through. In it was a bunch of useless stuff. Machine artillery, Renegade uniforms, you name it. He even found a couple pairs of socks with designs of the name Martel embroidered on them.

A/N: Anyone remember Yuan's socks from The Guilty? Lol

Artemis rummaged through the box once more, throwing out its contents as he went. He sighed. He quit. This was absurd. He stood, looking over the mess he had created in the hangar floor. Boxes, all shapes and sizes, with their stuffing strewn about the metallic blue floor. He looked at Genis, who was busy raiding the computers. Artemis carelessly waded through the mess of stuffs, heading straight for the little half-elf.

"Hey, Genis," He said, "Why don't we just get new Rheairds and be done with it?"

Genis didn't reply right away. He typed on the numerous keyboards, presumably searching the computer's database to check on the current hangar status. He frowned.

"That's strange," He murmured, typing some more. Curiosity getting the better of him, Artemis craned his neck, looking over Genis' shoulder. What he saw on the monitor mainly consisted of many numbers and abbreviations, none of which made any sense to him whatsoever. Be that as it may, Genis apparently made perfect, undisputed sense of what the computer monitors displayed.

"What's all that mean?" Artemis said, feeling meek since he could not understand the computer's language while Genis could.

Genis pointed to an abbreviation on the screen, which was in all caps.

"This here stands for the main power grid." His finger traveled to the number abiding by the abbreviation. The number was 005. It was constantly flickering from lower to higher then even the lower the next jump. Artemis didn't truthfully understand, but a feeling in his gut told him that whatever it was, it couldn't possibly be good.

"The main power percentage's going up, then down, then even lower the next time it repeats the jumps. It means the main power's running out."

Artemis swore under his breath. Just perfect. Nemesis plus its spawn were trapped in this little base; with the main power just a matter of time away before it dried out. And if the power goes, so do the defenses. And if that happens, then Nemesis and its children were free to wreak havoc upon the world of Symphonia. Not to mention the Yggdrasill tree would be in serious danger. If Yggdrasill died, so would this world. Stupid, stupid Renegades! They helped save the world, and now one of its experiments gone wrong was going to destroy it!! Rather ironic, like.

"What of the auxiliary power?"

Genis' fingers flew across the keyboard, yet he did not look at his hands. At first, he smiled, and then he frowned, cursing loudly.

"Dammit all!"

Artemis leaned toward the screen.

"What's the matter?"

Genis gestured to an abbreviation marked as AUX PWR. The percentage adjacent to it was one hundred percent full. Artemis could not detect the problem, at least, not until Genis spoke again.

"The problem is, even if the auxiliary power's full, we've got to find the switch in order to activate it! And it won't work should the main power run out before we can find it!"

Artemis swore again, holding no regards of the younger boy beside him. The situation was appearing more and more bleak with each revelation.

"Knowledge is power. Knowledge can be dangerous, even fatal, depending on how you choose to wield it."

Starting, Artemis spun around in hopes of seeing who had just spoken to him. He saw no one. The Rheaird hangar was completely devoid of life save himself and Genis.

"What's the matter, Artemis?" Genis asked, turning to face him.

Artemis shook his head, going back to the computer monitor.

"It's nothing noteworthy."

Artemis had difficulty in deciding whether or not his lineage was the cause of the disembodied voice. Was it because of his muddy blood, or was he going insane?

Hikaru and Raine carefully avoided the overly abundant large tree roots sprouting from the ground as they traversed the very same room the artificial Great Tree was grown in, in hopes of revealing more clues. So far, she and Raine encountered no Nemespawn. A disturbing predicament indeed. You'd think after a near hour of just wandering, something would find them. By this time, the corridors with the abundance in scattered all over the damn place began to have a profound effect on Raine. It all appeared similar to the Hall of the Great Seed in the Tower of Salvation. For a moment, Raine actually thought she really _was _in the Tower of Salvation. Then she reminded herself that Hikaru was with her, and she met up with the adolescent _long after_ the germination of the Yggdrasill tree. Finally, irritated with the eerie silence, Raine decided to make use of this time and interrogate Hikaru about her ability to control trees.

"So, tell me, Hikaru," She began with the air of an authoritative teacher.

However, Hikaru was on to her in an instant. She gave out a wary sigh.

"Lemme guess . . .It's about my crystal infused with the mana of the Giant Tree."

Raine nodded, taken aback.

"The Giant Tree was named Yggdrasill, for an update. Anyway, yes, about that leaf crystal. How did you come to possess it?"

Hikaru leaned against a nearby wall, which was covered with thin, tiny ivy growth. She removed her right hand glove, showing the back of her right hand to Raine, where the Yggdrasill leaf crystal shone with a paranormal green.

"Yuan planned to grow an artificial Giant Tree should the original die out. And I was to be used to grow it. In other words, he fused my mana with that of the artificial Tree, and I failed in growing it. Satisfied?"

"That was about what you had to do with the crystal; you didn't say how you got it."

Hikaru growled low in her throat.

"I was a host body of this thing. It works just like an Exsphere!!"

Raine folded her arms, smiling.

"Then does that mean without a Key Crest, you'll turn into a monster or something akin to that?"

"It only gives me abilities like an Exsphere; it doesn't turn people into monsters. I've had this for over half a year, and nothing's happened." Hikaru retorted.

"Yet." Raine said.

Hikaru grumbled, striding ahead of Raine further down the narrow corridor. Sighing, Raine had no choice but to follow.

The cycle lock system room became a battlefield. Colette made use of her angel wings to fly, whilst Satsuma hailed a flurry of gunfire, running and dodging from place to place. The three Nemespawn they fought assumed the shapes of differing people, ones that the original group that saved the worlds from Mithos knew all too well . . .Three of the Desian Grand Cardinals. Kvar, Forcystus, and Pronyma. They didn't speak; they just attacked, like marionettes. When Colette sliced their flesh with her chakrams, they didn't draw blood. Instead, shimmering blue liquid splattered about, a presumable substitute for blood. At least it didn't smell as foul, nor did it cross the girls' minds as sickening. As non-humanoid life forms, the Nemespawn were considerably tougher than what was considered normal human strength.

The Pronyma clone cast a spell at Satsuma. The female gunner avoided the offensive just as the bloody lances materialized and attempted to skewer her. Satsuma tried to fire at the Pronyma impersonator, yet there was one problem at hand. Her pistols were empty. Cursing mentally, Satsuma leapt backwards, slamming her left gun into her right hand to hold both of them while she dug in her pocket for more bullet clips. She allowed the used up clips to fall to the floor; she hastily reloaded her weapons. Not a moment too soon. The Forcystus clone had fired from his own gun, right for her. Satsuma somersaulted to the right, just narrowly dodging the gunshot. She stuck one of her guns into her belt, reaching into one of her other pockets for something. The half-elf withdrew a grenade. She yanked out the metallic pin with her teeth, and then hurled the tiny bomb at the Forcystus imposter. When the grenade exploded, so did Forcystus, his limbs and bits of flesh turning into an azure gelatin material. The heart of the Nemespawn, Satsuma saw, turned out to be a teardrop shaped black slab of stone. Satsuma assumed the stone to be enchanted with magic. She glanced at Colette. The Summon Spirit controlling the body had only just done away with the Pronyma Nemespawn. The lone one left was the Kvar impersonator. Grinning, Satsuma grabbed another grenade, pulled out the pin, and threw at the Kvar Nemespawn. Satsuma couldn't resist laughing at the monster when it exploded. Colette landed, her shimmering angel wings disappearing unto nothingness. She brushed off her outfit, wiping the beads of sweat off her forehead.

"That wasn't so tough." She said.

Satsuma nodded in agreement. She took both her pistols in her hands, stood up, and aimed them at the angelic girl standing before her. Colette started.

"The hell are you doing?!" the blonde demanded, baffled.

Satsuma smirked, cocking her guns.

"Solving a problem. Artemis and the Sage siblings needed to be rid of you, correct?"

Colette didn't dare move, although she did still have the courage to speak.

"But what about the girl I'm possessing? What about her life?"

The gunner didn't show any signs of remorse or mercy as she replied.

"Simple. I don't really like killing people, however, I didn't know her, so therefore I will not feel guilty for killing her. If I kill the host body, you will not have a physical form. Since you need to possess someone, I'm assuming that you are just a newborn Summon Spirit, once a normal intelligent being that lived in this world. Besides, it's just like Artemis said. Won't it be better for Colette to find rest and peace in the realm of the dead instead of doing horrible things under your influence?"

Colette folded her arms, her next reply dripping with disdain.

"Even after you drive me out, I can still possess someone else. Namely you."

Satsuma shook her head, her shoulder length brunette hair flapping about.

"Summon Spirits such as yourself can only possess someone with a weak mind or is in a weak state of mind. Colette probably was too angry, sad, or whatever else to fight back mentally. I'm strong of mind, and you will deeply regret it should you try to possess me. I'll be able to seal you away if you tried to take control over me."

Satsuma took a step closer to Colette, who dared not to move.

"What about Artemis, Genis, and Raine? What will you tell them about their missing friend?" Colette said, standing perfectly still, glaring almost literal daggers at her enemy.

Satsuma shrugged.

"I'll just say that the Nemespawn got you, that we were hopelessly outnumbered, and I barely managed to escape."

"But what about Hikaru? What about your sister? Would she want you to become a murderer?" Colette spat.

Satsuma faltered. She bit her lower lip gently, thinking it over. That hesitation was all that the nameless Summon Spirit needed.

Hikaru: Phew!! Sorry it took so long to freaking update!! Like it? Please review!!


	8. Alive or Dead?

Hikaru: YAY! MORE REVIEWS!! I feel so loved.

Lloyd: Had it not occurred to you that they love your writing, not you?

Hikaru: . . .YOU LIE!!! DIRTY LIES!!!!

Kratos: Anyway, Hikaru, you've got to take your medicine.

Hikaru: NOOOOOO!!! I DON'T WANNA!!

Raine: You wanna get better, don't you?

Hikaru: I'm well enough to write, isn't that enough for you all?

Lloyd: Well . . .in the last story, you killed me and my dad!! Maybe being sick like this is your punishment!

Hikaru: Strange. Because that's why you thought you had the sickness you had in the last story.

Off screen voice: What's this? OH MY GOD!!! HIKARU WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS . . .THING?!

Hikaru: Looks like Cloud found that one picture I drew of him as a furry fox character . . .heh I drew one of Sephiroth like that, too!!

Genis: Sigh . . .Hikaru doesn't own Tales of Symphonia.

Hikaru: Wait . . .didn't you already do the disclaimer before, Genis?

Genis: Uh . . .no?

Genis brought up the map projection on the computer monitor, Artemis hovering over his shoulder in order to get a good look. Genis didn't say anything for a moment or two until he found what he was searching for. He pointed to one place of the map, where a yellow dot marked something.

"Here's the auxiliary power switch."

The silver haired half-elf typed some more. Artemis observed that the screen changed to reveal another part of the large map, zooming in to show where a red dot marker was located.

"And that red dot is the main power grid."

Artemis patiently waited for Genis to change the map around some more. This time, there was a green dot.

"That's the main power regenerator."

Artemis sighed.

"So what's our plan?"

More typing. Finally, Genis spoke.

"The auxiliary power switch is closer to this hangar than the power regenerator. I think it's best that we activate the auxiliary power, activate the regenerator, and then turn on the main power again."

Artemis clapped his hands together, walking away from the computers Genis was working on.

"All right. Where's the auxiliary power switch?"

"It seems to be located in the prison cell area. The regenerator is . . .oh, no." Genis said.

Artemis turned around, startled.

"What's wrong?"

Genis didn't answer right away. When he spoke, Artemis wanted desperately to kick something over.

"The regenerator's in that secret chamber that I found Hikaru in earlier. You know, the one with the artificial Giant Tree."

"Just bloody great!! Auxiliary power normally doesn't last long!!"

Genis walked away from the computers, toward Artemis.

"But Raine and Hikaru are still down there. If we could contact them somehow, then maybe they can switch it on for us."

Artemis folded his arms, pouting.

"And just how are we going to go about doing that?"

"I don't know!!" Genis said, panicking.

Artemis sighed. Just bloody perfect.

Hikaru was busily thinking about how Raine had said that her crystal might have a negative effect on her without a Key Crest, when she tripped over the fifth tree root she tripped over in the duration of the last ten minutes. She grumbled to herself as she got up again.

"It's bloody dark in here and I keep tripping!!"

She heard Raine walk up behind her.

"You really ought to be more careful."

Hikaru spun around, having difficulty in spotting the Professor due to the intense darkness of the hall they were now in. If it weren't for her silver hair, she would have missed her entirely.

"How in Yggdrasill's name am I going to be more careful in this bloody darkness?"

Hikaru heard Raine fumble around in her pocket before the darkness partially obscuring her suddenly negated. Raine was holding a small lantern.

"It's called a lantern."

Hikaru huffed, folding her arms.

"Oh, really, like I would think of bringing a lantern in the desert!"

Raine sighed, walking ahead of her younger comrade. Hikaru had no choice but to follow if she didn't want to either get lost or to get ambushed by either Nemesis or its spawn. She abruptly thought of something. She caught up to Raine.

"Hey, Raine. If we just kill Nemesis, then its spawn, will we be able to prevent it from spreading?"

"I dunno what you mean. Of course it'll quit spreading if we kill them all."

Hikaru shook her head.

"You misunderstand. I don't think any Nemespawn are able to reproduce asexually. So, if we kill Nemesis first, we'll stop it from spreading, right?"

Raine turned to Hikaru.

"That's a very good idea. However, there is one little flaw. We don't know what Nemesis looks like."

Hikaru thought for a moment prior to replying.

"There ought to be some files of Nemesis' creation in this base somewhere. If we can find them . . ." Raine cut her off.

"The control room was utterly devastated when I found it. Good sentiments, though, I'll give you that."

Hikaru wasn't to be discouraged so easily.

"But what about _written _files? Every major organization needs some back up for their research data in cases akin to this, wouldn't you agree?"

Raine smiled, seemingly impressed.

"You're a smart girl for just an adolescent."

"Hey! What do you mean by 'just an adolescent'?!" Hikaru retorted indignantly.

Raine laughed as she walked ahead. Following, Hikaru mumbled under her breath.

Colette knocked Satsuma's guns out of her hands, grabbed them, and then used her angel wings to fly just out of her reach. Satsuma cursed.

"Damn you! Give those back!!"

Colette busied herself with the task of removing the bullet clips from the guns. She looked at Satsuma.

"Now why would I do that? You want to kill my host body, correct?"

Satsuma could only stand where she was. Or could she not? Satsuma raised her hands into the air. Her eyes seemed to glow as she cast her spell.

"Drown!! Tidal Wave!!"

A giant tsunami that appeared from absolutely nowhere washed over the blonde possessed angel, causing her to lose her grip on Satsuma's weapons. The gunner retrieved her pistols, loading them with new clips because Colette removed the ones she'd placed in earlier. Colette coughed, getting to her feet, sopping wet. She looked down, and gasped.

"You idiot!! Look!!"

Satsuma looked down. The water she'd conjured had filled the room knee-deep. And it was rising.

Artemis didn't take long to consider anything. He drew out his fighting cards, walking to the hangar door.

"There's no point in staying here and simply waiting for either the power to just go out or the Nemespawn or Nemesis to get us. Might as well try."

Genis followed his comrade, kendama in hand. He had an idea.

"Artemis, why not split up in groups? I'll go to the generator and you'll go to the auxiliary power switch. We'll at least have a chance to stop Nemesis and its children."

Artemis stopped walking, thinking about the little half-elf's plan.

"I dunno, Genis. It'll be more dangerous."

Apparently, Genis wasn't going to take "no" for an answer.

"You could meet up with Satsuma's group, since the cycle lock system chamber isn't really too far off from the prison cell area."

Finally, Artemis nodded.

"All right. And Raine and Hikaru are already in the relative area of the regenerator switch. Let's go."

Artemis and Genis parted ways. They'd better hurry. The main power was running out more quickly than either one had anticipated.

Hikaru chose to follow Raine around the hidden dungeon for one reason only: to prevent tripping on any more tree roots, since the teacher had the only light source. The half-elf happened to notice that the further down the hallways they progressed, the less tree roots there were. She mused that it must mean that the two of them were slowly drawing away from the artificial Giant Tree. But then, where did this dungeon lead? And, most importantly, why in the nine hells weren't there any damned Nemespawn in this particular dungeon?

As the two half-elven females traveled down further, the hallway became wider, eventually leading them to a large circular chamber, completely devoid of tree roots, and of any life save the two half-elves. Or so it seemed. Murmuring to herself, Raine walked on dead ahead, Hikaru dogging her footsteps. The two of them stopped when Hikaru tripped (yet again) over something.

"Ow . . .what the hell is this?" She mumbled, getting to her feet.

Raine knelt on one knee, bringing the lantern to the thing that Hikaru had stumbled over. She covered her mouth to suppress a shriek of sheer horror. Hikaru looked at the thing, or at least the part of the thing that was bathed in the small circle of light emitted by Raine's lantern. She gasped.

Lying on the metal floor was a mangled body of a . . .monster? The first half of it was rather akin to one of Pronyma's soldiers she pitted against them when they first raided the Cruxis. The lower half resembled melted blue goo. The first half of it was the part that was mutilated beyond belief; the torso was entirely covered in short cuts, as if by a couple of swords. Hikaru shook her head.

"This has got to be either Nemesis or a Nemespawn."

Raine mirrored Hikaru's action.

"I don't believe Nemesis would be killed that easily . . ."

Raine got to her feet, staff in one hand, lantern in the other. She raised her staff.

"Ray!!"

It was only for a brief moment, but the light spell illuminated the entirety of the circular chamber. Raine and Hikaru stared starry-eyed at their surroundings. Lining the circular room were innumerable glass cylindrical biology tanks, meant for artificially creating biological specimens for scientific studies. Every one of them were broken, fluids spilled everywhere. Raine went over to the first tank, looking over the broken glass and the fluids soaking it.

"Amazing . . .this is where Nemesis was first created . . ."

Hikaru ran over to another one, but not too far from Raine, so she could see.

"Then why are there so many tanks?"

Raine shook her head, dabbing her fingers in the spilled fluid.

"I don't know. There could have been stillborn prototypes. The first few productions might not have yielded the results the remaining Renegades wanted, so they may have either killed them off or somehow fused them with the final product."

Without warning, the circular chamber flooded with light. Raine and Hikaru had to shield their eyes. When they recovered, they glanced up to see that there were lights on the ceiling. The half-elves whirled around when they heard another person addressing them.

"Your thoughts are quite accurate, Professor Sage . . .long time no see . . ."

Raine's jaw dropped instantly when she saw who was standing before her. Her voice was unsteady, shaking.

" . . .Lloyd . . .?"

Hikaru: Oh ho!! Is this really Lloyd, or is Nemesis or its children merely taking his shape? The only way to find out is to review!!! Pretty please????


	9. Kept in the Dark

Hikaru: Ack . . . sorry so sorry for the long wait, everybody! My cold has finally subsided, or faded into nothingness . . .whichever you prefer to call it, it's finally gone. Yahoo! I also had a history book report due in my English class . . .yes, history in English. I finally got that done at the last minute . . .hehehhe. I'm also working hard on my book that I wanna publish in high school. But now I found time in my tight schedule between schoolwork, drawing, writing, cleaning and my obsessive gaming habits to write more of my fanfiction!!

Lloyd: has a party hat and a noisemaker Happy New Year, even though it's a little late.

Hikaru: I want some more sparkling cider.

Genis: Oh, great. You already chugged down the last four bottles!

Raine: I wouldn't be surprised if her liking for apple cider bloomed into full addiction.

Hikaru: Shut it! Besides, as I recall, wasn't it my addiction to RPG's the very factor that made me play ToS and love it? In fact, I only decided to try it out because I saw an ad for it in my NewType magazine!

Lloyd: Oh, how the world is cruel . . .

Sheena: Just be glad she still plays it, Lloyd.

Zelos: Yeah. She doesn't play our game as much as she did before because she's working on Dark Cloud 2.

Hikaru: Not to mention I'm reading Prey, State of Fear, Prince of Dogs, Strangers, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and . . .a lot of other books.

Lloyd: How in the hell can you stand it?!

Hikaru: What are you talking about?! I love reading!

Raine: Only thirteen, and yet she possesses qualities I prize in my best students.

Genis: Yeah, Lloyd, you're four years older than her! Get with the program!

Hikaru: I'm smarter than he is, too! Isn't that just sad?

Lloyd: Shut up! Get on with the story!

Hikaru: Oh, right.

Maximilian: Hikaru doesn't own ToS or Dark Cloud 2.

Lloyd: Where'd you come from?

Max: Uh . . .I keep my secrets.

Raine would have stepped backwards were it not for the biology tanks that were lined up on the wall. Next to her, Hikaru seemed indifferent. She had heard the story of Lloyd and Kratos' deaths, yet she didn't feel the same as Raine. After all, she didn't personally know him. The presumed Lloyd standing before the two females stepped forward.

"How'd you know I was here? And where's Genis and the others?"

Raine's jaw dropped about a foot. She regained her composure after receiving an elbow nudge from Hikaru. The half-elf then noticed something. "Lloyd" was holding a thick white folder in one hand, which was kept at his side, next to his twin blades sheathed on his belts. Raine took a step toward "Lloyd", but cautiously so. She pointed to the folder as she spoke.

"Uh . . .what is that you're holding?"

"Lloyd" held up the hand gripping the thick folder, looking at it with a bemused expression.

"I found it around ten minutes ago in here, and it has some . . .complicated stuff I don't really understand."

"Hey, Raine! That could be the written file about Project Nemesis!" Hikaru pointed out, tugging on the professor's sleeve as she stepped toward "Lloyd".

Slowly nodding, Raine followed the brunette girl.

"I'll take that, if you don't very much mind." Hikaru muttered as she swiped the white folder away from "Lloyd's" clutches. She retreated back to Raine, opening the folder. Now that the entire room was alight, reading wouldn't be too difficult. The two half-elves poured over the file, scattering papers on the floor, trying to decipher sloppy but neat looking handwriting (presumed to be Yuan's) and shuffling through different illustrations of the latest in technological advancement, even for the Cruxis technology level. Raine knelt on one knee, while Hikaru sat cross-legged, brooding over the file. The silver haired woman put her hand on a page that was lined with Yuan's handwriting. She read it aloud: " 'I don't know what my men are thinking. They just proposed a project they called Nemesis. It involved shape-shifting creatures and something about making cloning easier for future wars there might be, but I turned it down shortly after the 'war' part. Just look what the Kharlan War got the world! We don't need another war like that, for Martel's sake! Still, I didn't like the way they looked when I told them no. I think they might still attempt to put this project of theirs into action despite my wishes. Just think of the disasters that could come along with this development . . .' It seems as if Yuan didn't keep together a journal, but rather he wrote down his feelings on random pieces of paper . . ."

Hikaru picked up another sheet of paper.

"I do that all the time. Anyway . . . look at this. These are the building plans for those biology tanks . . ."

While Raine and Hikaru looked that over, "Lloyd" was busy looking through the desks that were standing opposite the biology tanks, raiding the drawers. He found photographs of the Renegades doing what seemed to be building a machine, then another of a bunch of scientists working with the machine, and finally, one of a broken tank and a tattered, disfigured body at the foot of the tank. However, it was slightly blurred because there was a water blotch on the photo. "Lloyd" gently bit his lower lip. This was terribly worrisome. He walked over to Raine with the photos he found in hand.

"Professor . . .I think you should look at this."

Never glancing up to look at the red-clad brunette boy, Raine took the photos, and after a quick look at them, her complexion turned abnormally pale.

"This . . .these are the rebel Renegades working on Project Nemesis . . ."

"Lloyd" uttered an awe of understanding.

"Oh, is that what those monsters were called? I wondered about them, especially when Sheena and I first came here to gather Exspheres . . ."

Raine stood up, facing the presumed Lloyd.

"What did you say just now? About you and Sheena coming here? How long ago was that?"

Slightly intimidated, Lloyd answered her.

"Uh . . .the base locked down for quite some time. I estimated at least three or four months at best. Why?"

"Oh, cripes . . .locked down . . .Yuan locked both bases down . . .all a few months ago . . .oh, good Goddess . . ." Raine looked away from Lloyd, muttering to herself. Lloyd was totally clueless. The Professor's ranting quickly ceased when the lights guttered and died. Lloyd swore loudly.

"Shit! The power's gone out!"

"Oh no . . .now the base's defenses are down, too . . ." Raine said in a grave tone of voice.

There was sharp intake of breath from where Hikaru was standing.

"And that means?"

Raine's breathing came in raspy gasps.

"Nemesis and the Nemespawn are free to do as they please now that the defenses are out."

Only one more sentence broke the already shattered silence in the severe darkness.

"Oh, shit . . ."

Satsuma waded in the waist-deep water, aiming to go to the door. She would have reached the door had the lights not gone out so suddenly. Thankfully, the feeling of water seeping up her body slowed down, but not by much. Slowed down . . .they would probably have plenty of time to get the hell out of here before the two of them would utterly drown. The problem which beset them was that without the benefit of visuals, escaping this infernal cage would most likely be next to inconceivable. This was where the seemingly useless young Summon Spirit came in. Standing still in the cold water, Satsuma spoke.

"Hey, can you make light?"

There was the sound of sloshing water.

"Not quality light like Luna can, but I can make some light."

"Then will you please make some light?"

A moment passed. Then, Satsuma saw Colette's form illuminated by a fairly weak light. The light was held in the form of an orb, in her palm. By this time, Satsuma waded over to the door. In one swift movement, she threw a grenade at it. The door blasted open, reduced into tiny little metallic bits. The water level abridged, now that it had somewhere else to escape. The water flowed out, at river's speed, spreading out in the hallways. Satsuma gave a small whoop of victory. She ran out of the large, previously flooded room, and then she collided with none other than . . .

"Artemis!" Satsuma cried when she recovered.

The black haired boy seemed to tremble, guardian cards in hand.

" . . .Artemis?" Satsuma said again.

"I let him go . . .Genis is by himself and all alone . . .I'm so stupid!" Artemis gasped, clenching his fists tightly.

Satsuma took hold of the boy's shoulders.

"Get a hold of yourself! We'll find him! Trust me!"

Artemis took one look in Satsuma's emerald eyes, and uttered one word.

" . . .Okay."

Blinded by the power outage, little Genis tripped over what he assumed to be yet another tree root. He wasn't concerned about the Rheairds anymore. What he was concerned with was getting the hell out of here before they were all killed. Just think of poor Sheena, and the rest of their friends. They won't even know what happened to them. Genis scrambled to his feet again, running as fast as his short little legs would allow him. From the look of things, it appears as though Artemis didn't reach the auxiliary power switch in time. No matter. If he got to the regenerator, then not all hope will be lost. That is, _if _he reached the regenerator in time. He only knew novice healing techniques, such as First Aid or Nurse. Of course, the Heal spell (NOT Holly's) was an advanced achievement, but still . . . Not to mention the fact that Pineapple Gels lasted for only so long. Genis really wanted to call out to Raine, to let her know he was here, in the same general area, but he thought it would not be a wise choice, for it would also alert those monsters the Renegades created.

Genis' thoughts were rudely put on hold when, due to lack of visuals, he ran smack-dab into a wall. He staggered back, holding his nose, which miraculously remained unbroken. There was a strange noise, akin to that of a sweeping robe. What the hell? Genis pulled out his kendama, conjuring a fire ball on the orb. What approached him caused him to fall silent.

Hikaru: So sorry for the long wait!! But there it is! Please Read and Review!


	10. Fear Dominates All

Hikaru: I'm so sorry for the long wait! Schoolwork's been piling up . . .

Raine: Why are you complaining?

Hikaru: Why else? I hate homework!

Raine: I don't see how that's possible when you currently have four A's and three B's in all of your classes.

Lloyd: I envy your academic ability.

Hikaru: Look, just because I have good grades, doesn't mean I like homework!

Raine:has her textbook: Hikaru, state the properties of the mineral adamantite, its uses, and how it is formed.

Hikaru: Professor, the mineral adamantite is scrap diamond used chiefly by dwarves as a sharpening tool for their crafting utensils. Adamantite is formed when a diamond's atomic structure is strengthened by the means of magitechnology machines.

Raine: See! You like studying mana and magitechnology!

Hikaru: Well, I'm writing a book that has to do with mana and mythology . . .

Raine: So what's so bad about your homework at school?

Hikaru: Huh . . .I don't know . . .

Raine: See? You loved doing homework in elementary school!

Hikaru: And how did you know that . . .?

Zelos: Oh, we just had Sheena use Mizuho's intelligence network . . .

Hikaru: ZELOS!

Zelos: And I also happen to know that you like to dance . . .

Hikaru: What are you implying?

Zelos:goes off-screen and comes back out in his formal outfit with a rose in his mouth: Come and get some!

Hikaru: I'd rather dance with Noishe.

Zelos: Oh, that's so cold!

Hikaru: I wanna dance with Kratos! Oh, Kratos!

Zelos: . . .okay . . .

Gem-Katz: Meow! Hikaru doesn't own Tales of Symphonia.

Genis only stared, despite of the impoliteness staring merits. The person he saw standing before him was obviously male; he wore a white trench coat with black pants and a white shirt, he had curiously green hair, which matched his eyes, and he held in his right hand a lightweight short sword, which bore the word "truth" in ancient elven letters inscribed in the blade. The reason Genis stared at the stranger so was because of his long, pointed ears that were furry and speckled with white and green. The stranger had the honor of speaking first.

"Genis?" he asked, almost uncertainly.

Genis' jaw dropped a few feet.

"Um . . .have we met?"

The other boy, appearing at least a year or so older than Mithos was, pouted, much like Lloyd would have.

"Oh, come on! You're a child prodigy, and yet you can't even recognize the world's one and only Protozoan?"

Genis' jaw, if possible, dropped even lower this second time.

"N-Noishe! You evolved again?"

Noishe nodded proudly. He brandished his short sword around, an idiotic grin etched in his features.

"Yep! I am Noishe, the one, the only Protozoan!"

Genis sighed, lowering his previously raised kendama. Noishe quit the hysterics, and instead focused on Genis and their current situation.

"Hey, Genis, did you by any chance get separated from Raine?"

Genis nodded.

"I know she's in this general area, but I can't find her. One is because of the darkness, second is because there are shape shifting monsters called Nemespawn running around."

Noishe returned the nod, although the action was lost in the dark.

"Well, if we run into any monsters, they won't last long! After all, now that you've got a melee fighter on your side, you can cast spells without a problem!"

At this, Genis smiled. He felt Noishe place a hand on his shoulder.

"C'mon, Genis. We'll find Raine together!"

"Yeah!"

"I'm gonna be sick, I'm gonna be sick, I'm gonna be sick . . ." These words Artemis muttered under his breath over and over, squeezing his eyes shut. As of now, Colette had Satsuma and Artemis in her arms, flying throughout the base and asking Artemis questions every now and then regarding which way to go. Eventually, Colette dropped the two teenagers she previously held on the floor.

"Ow! Colette, what the hell are you—"

"Shut up! Is this the place where Genis said he found Hikaru?"

Artemis got to his feet, straightening out his outfit. He took in the surroundings. Indeed, the juvenile Summon Spirit had dropped them off at the entrance of the secret hallway. Muttering continuously, Artemis began the long descent down the narrow stairwell, Satsuma and Colette following soon thereafter. Artemis felt his way along the wall by the means of his hands. He yelped when his foot slipped, and down the stairs he fell.

"Ow! Hey! What's going on!" His fall was stopped when Colette threw her arm forth, thus catching the previously doomed Artemis. He gave a weak smile.

"Uh . . .thanks, Colette."

The Summon Spirit set him on his feet. "Don't worry about it."

Artemis took a deep breath, and quickly, but carefully, continued the journey down the staircase.

Raine once again lit her lantern, providing light so that she and her two companions may see their surroundings. Lloyd spoke, nervousness obvious in his tone of voice.

"Uh . . .shouldn't we be getting out of here?"

Standing beside Raine, Hikaru nodded earnestly. Raine sighed.

"I agree. Let's go."

Hikaru drew her twin daggers, taking up the rear position of the band. Lloyd took the lead, whereas Raine kept in the center. Lloyd, sure-footed as a goat on a steep mountain slope, led the two half-elves the way the girls had come, keeping his twin blades out lest a shape shifter or more attacked. Hikaru anxiously looked about, not used to having to fight in such a narrow setting. It didn't take long for the first Nemespawn to find them.

"Rising Falcon!" Lloyd leapt in the air and dove back down, thus driving away the beast, which had chosen to take the shape of a wild boar from the Ymir Forest. Panicking, Hikaru sought to protect Raine from any interruption as she raised her staff in preparation to cast a spell. The young swordswoman repeatedly slashed and hacked at the boar, which charged forward. Hikaru, caught in the attack, was flung onto her back. She cried out loudly. Lloyd saw her plight, and helped her to her feet just as Raine finished her spell.

"Holy Lance!"

Multiple, transparent white lances materialized out of thin air, driving themselves into the Nemespawn. Since these shape shifters had stronger attributes than the original being they took the shape of, the boar look alike didn't even flinch. Hikaru bit back another scream when the boar charged again. She held her ground, rising up her daggers.

"Guardian!" She yelled, her feet skidding on the smooth metal floor. She opted for an attack.

"Demonic Chaos!" Her voice echoed throughout the hallway.

Raine finished casting her next offensive.

"Light . . .Photon!"

A sphere of yellow light consumed the beast shortly before exploding, delivering massive damage. Lloyd ran to the boar.

"Tiger Rage!"

The Nemespawn's blood flowed from the countless slashes Lloyd dealt it, shimmering a translucent light blue. Hikaru moved in for the kill.

"Omega Tempest!"

The Nemespawn's body was ripped asunder, dying at last. Lloyd bent down, picking up the sparkling purple crystal from amongst the glimmering blue gelatin substance that was forming from the dead shape shifter's body parts.

"Hey . . .isn't this its heart?"

Raine walked toward Lloyd, taking a look at the crystal he held.

"Now that you mention it . . .that written file did include some brief information regarding a crystal . . ." Raine swiped it from Lloyd, studying it and mumbling under her breath.

Hikaru sighed with evident relief. Straining a grin, she sheathed her daggers, and her gaze unconsciously fell upon her leaf crystal. Its paranormal green light radiated a small distance, lighting up her hand. Would something awful really happen to her if she didn't have a Key Crest? Hikaru chuckled. She imagined herself turning a tree monster. She turned to Lloyd and Raine.

"C'mon, let's go. We don't want to get attacked again, do we?"

Still devoting herself to the Nemespawn heart, Raine followed Hikaru, Lloyd in tow.

The very instant Artemis felt the metallic floor level out, he broke into a sprint. Satsuma gasped in surprise, not hesitating to follow. Grinning idly, Colette unfurled her magenta angel wings and flew on ahead of Artemis. Before long, the carefree juvenile Summon Spirit collided with a few people.

"Ouch! Watch where you're going!" She yelled irritably.

Artemis and Satsuma skidded on the smooth metal floor to a stop just before mowing over Colette. Artemis' claret eyes widened at whom Colette flew into.

"Genis! You're all right!" He ran over to meet his friend.

Genis nodded, rubbing his head, mussing up his silver hair. The other boy that stood beside Genis caught Artemis' eye.

"Who's that?" He asked.

The stranger grinned widely. He flaunted a short sword about wildly.

"I am the last Protozoan in human, elven, dwarven, half-elven, and maybe even half-dwarven existence, Noishe!"

Artemis only stared. At his side, Satsuma coughed, obviously hiding a laugh. Colette, using her angel wings, hovered back a few inches above the floor, straightening her hair and biting her lower lip gently. Noishe had to laugh, and quite loudly he did. Genis chuckled softly, a ghost of a grin pulling at his lips.

"I'm glad I found you, Genis. I thought you were gonna die." Artemis sighed.

Genis shook his head.

"I have Noishe with me. Besides, we should really focus on finding Raine and Hikaru right now."

Satsuma nodded fervently, her hands involuntarily gripping her pistol holsters.

"Yes . . .They might be—" Her voice was cut off at the loud sound of a battle quite nearby. A faint voice was heard crying, "Tiger Rage!" Noishe gasped.

"That's Lloyd's voice! Let's get going!"

Genis faltered at this. Wasn't Lloyd supposed to be dead? Nonetheless, he sported after the running Noishe down the hallway. The remaining people said nothing and followed.

"Guardian!" Lloyd leapt back, the heat of the current battle getting to him.

Hikaru tried her best, but the party of ninjas that were presumably Nemespawn knocked her aside. Raine, panting for breath, cast another Revitalize spell. She was running out of mana, and the ninjas that they crossed weapons with didn't show any signs of weakening. Two of them were guardian users, like Sheena, one of them preferred hand-to-hand combat, and the last two used shruiken and knives to do their bidding. The ninjas were dressed in maroon ninja uniforms, a sign of their ranking in Mizuho. In fact, Raine thought that these ninja, if they weren't Nemespawn, were strikingly similar to Kuchinawa . . .Her musings were put to an end when one of the guardian users used Pyre Seal on her, and she was flung back, hitting the floor.

At this, Lloyd was angered. Growling low in his throat, he lunged for the nearest ninja.

"Raging Beast!"

The ninja cried out as he was put out of action. Lloyd looked left and right wildly. One down, four to go. Hikaru rose to her feet, slicing the ninja that knocked her down apart with a Tempest attack. Unfortunately, the ninja here also used healing skills, so Hikaru's attack was basically all for nothing. The martial artist struck her aside once more.

"Augh!"

Lloyd thrust the Flamberge sword through the fighter that attacked Hikaru.

"Hurricane Thrust!"

Raine strained to stand. She had enough mana for just one more spell. She decided to make it Revitalize. Alas, the only guardian user left drained her of her mana with Spirit Seal. Anger roared as a great fire would. She whacked him with her staff, knocking him out cold. However, the final three, although they didn't use the fighting cards, still had guardians. The martial artist thrust a hand forth, where he clutched a white spell card.

"Come forth, Lightning Guardian!" he hollered.

The familiar blue sacred beast materialized, accompanied with swirling white mist. Hikaru swore under her breath. Raine kneeled on one knee, her mana nearly extinguished. Lloyd nearly buckled. Nearly, but not quite. He charged at the guardian. Hikaru gasped. She reached a hand after him.

"Lloyd! No, that's what they want you to do!"

Growling, Lloyd paid no heed to Hikaru's words. His assault resulted in the Guardian knocking him aside quite violently. Gears in his head turning quickly, Lloyd flipped in the air to avoid falling to the floor. He stood his ground, blocking an attack from both the Guardian and the ninjas.

"D-dammit . . ." he grunted as his defense broke.

Hikaru couldn't move for fear. The Lightning Guardian turned its oddly shaped head in her general direction. Hikaru gasped loudly. The sacred beast made to move toward its new prey, but a severely violent shaking of the earth caused it to stand still. The ninja also stopped attacking in fear of the earthquake. Suddenly, giant thick tree roots speared through the metallic floor from all over the place, through the walls, the ceiling, you name it. The plant life coiled around the Lightning Guardian and the ninja, binding them tightly. The bark of the roots hardened instantly once the enemies were bound beyond the ability to breathe properly.

Heart rates skyrocketing, both Raine and Lloyd snapped their gazes back to the frightened Hikaru, who knelt trembling before the catastrophe unfolding. Raine noticed Hikaru's leaf shaped crystal glow brightly, its green aura blinding. Hikaru gasped once she realized what was happening.

"No!" She screamed, trying to hide the green aura with her other hand.

Lloyd swore he saw tears streaming down Hikaru's face. Without warning, more thick tree roots shot up through the metal floor, pinning Lloyd to the wall. He shouted in pain. Raine gasped in alarm as another batch of roots cornered her where she knelt. Hikaru's breathing became ragged, and she sunk to the floor, unmoving. One would assume she's fainted. Lloyd knew better than to try to break free. These plants were so much stronger, it was likely he'd lose a limb if he tried to break its grip on his body. Finally, the shaking stopped. Manifold voices called out to him.

"Hey! Lloyd! Are you all right!"

"Hikaru!"

"Raine! Sis, you here!"

"Raine, are you all right!"

Lloyd gave a weak smile when he saw Genis, Colette, and Noishe with two other unfamiliar people sprinted to the scene. The latter of the group gasped when they sighted the tangled web of tree limbs, all of which were impossibly thick. Noishe sprinted to Lloyd, hacking and slashing at the incredibly thick tree root that bound him. Genis, taking a pocketknife, went to his older sister's rescue as he mimicked Noishe's strategy. Raine smiled when she saw Satsuma and Artemis. The black haired boy cursed nosily.

"Shit! What the hell happened here!"

Raine cast a glance toward Hikaru, whom Satsuma immediately rushed to.

"I just don't know."

Hikaru: Whew! That took a few hours!

Lloyd: Six pages! Good job!

Zelos: Now will you dance with me?

Raine: Hikaru, shall we get back to your math work?

Hikaru: Zelos, save me:runs to Zelos:

Zelos: Yay! Let's dance!

Lloyd: Oh, so you don't wanna dance with me!

Noishe: Wouldn't you rather dance with me, Hikaru?

Hikaru: Please Read and Review!


	11. Confessions and Explainations

Hikaru: Don't own Tales of Symphonia; never have, never will.

The newly reunited party gathered at the place of Nemesis' birth, Raine's lantern sitting at the center of the circle of fighters. It was only very recently that Lloyd and Raine, trapped by those gargantuan tree roots, were freed of their bindings. Afterwards, Raine suggested that they find some place to stay the night, or at least to just review the dire situation at hand. Nobody wanted to sleep with killer monsters and the like running about. The juvenile Summon Spirit had offered to keep watch since it had no need of sleep; however, the rest of the group politely declined, since they did not trust the Spirit. It already marked them as its enemy besides Nemesis. Thus, this led the company to gather at this desolate place, the birthplace of their enemy. Raine spoke first.

"Satsuma how's Hikaru?"

She shrugged uncertainly.

"I think she fainted. She's sleeping right now."

Raine nodded.

"I'd like to speak with you regarding that." Satsuma returned the nod.

"About?"

"I'd like to discuss the effects of her crystal. She told me that it was intended to grow Yuan's artificial Great Seed should the original die. Does this crystal have the power to . . .grow new roots?"

Satsuma fell silent. The rest of the fighters retained speech, eager to hear more, especially Artemis. Finally, Satsuma gave a slight nod.

"Yeah. Whenever Hikaru gets really scared or angry, she unintentionally calls up the roots of the Giant Kharlan Tree. She can also call them up by will, too, but she was always too afraid to use that power."

It was at this time that Raine had noticed it: Satsuma wore around her neck a gold chain that was fastened to a tiny glass vile of the purest water she had ever seen. The vile retained the shaping of a teardrop. The half-elven teacher saw this as an opportunity to squeeze more information as to why the two sisters were traveling by themselves.

"Satsuma, when you summoned that water dragon, how did you do it? The technique is quite similar to that of the Guardians the ninjas of Mizuho summon via spell cards. I take it the reasoning has something to do with that curious pendant of yours?"

Satsuma furrowed her brow; evidently, the subject was a touchy one. Nevertheless, she decided to answer it. They had already seen her use her water powers, so there was no point in trying to hide it any longer.

"Fine. Yeah, you're right, Raine. When Yuan discovered that I wasn't compatible for the Great Seed growing experiment, he turned me over to a division of Renegade sorcerers that wanted to perform an experiment regarding the Summon Spirit of water, Undine. This vile of water,"

She gripped the accessory with her hand tightly. "Is from Undine herself. Half a year ago, when Yuan first took us to this base, that division of sorcerers took me to the Water Seal on Thoda Island. The glass of this bottle is no ordinary material. It's made of mana concentrated in physical form. Anyway, this is a part of Undine. The Renegades' aim at the time was to see if a person, regardless of race, could be transformed into a Summon Spirit."

At this, the whole of the group gasped loudly, save the Spirit possessing Colette's body. As soon as the bout of exclaimed surprise passed, Satsuma continued.

"The method they developed was the person trying to become a Summon Spirit, me in that case, must first acquire a part of the Summon Spirit, in this case, Undine's water. From then on, once every few days, the host would return to the Spirit, where mana would be exchanged. Not as in spell casting or anything; the proper way was for the host to first offer a bit of their mana, as much as possible without losing enough to die, while the Summon Spirit would offer its mana to the host. In other words, the host lost a bit of their humanoid mana and gain Summon Spirit mana each time this was practiced. In so doing, those Renegade researchers wanted to find out if enough mana had been exchanged, the host would become a Summon Spirit of the element of mana inhabiting him or her."

"So why aren't you a water Summon Spirit by now?" Genis asked, curiosity taking over.

Satsuma gave Genis a stern glare for interrupting.

"I'm getting to that. Before the experiment was at least a third completed, word reached that Hikaru failed to grow the artificial Great Seed; therefore the division that studied mana and its uses had all died in the accident. So Yuan had called the other experiment involving turning humanoids into Summon Spirits off entirely. As a result, I was released, and I went back to the Sylvarant Base here to retrieve Hikaru."

She gave Raine a sour look.

"Satisfied?"

The answer was already known, although it had not been spoken. Raine's eyes were all lit up, and Lloyd recognized the beginnings of the teacher's infamous Ruin Mode.

"Fantastic! By releasing your humanoid mana, and taking in that of the Summon Spirit's, you were activating the process of possibly becoming a Summon Spirit yourself! Extraordinary!"

Lloyd gave a hoarse sigh, his eyes wandering back over to Colette's body. Her dull blue eyes gave away the fact that she was possessed.

"Professor, please don't start that again. You did the exact same thing when Colette was becoming an angel. What if Satsuma didn't want to be Undine's underling?"

Raine's enthusiasm died with those words. She sighed, her eyes reflecting the emotion of regret and remorse. She turned her gaze back to Satsuma.

"I-I'm sorry. I just lose control of my enthusiasm sometimes."

Satsuma gave out a similar sigh, folding her arms and glancing back at her little sister, sleeping soundly on a bunch of blankets she found earlier.

"Think nothing of it. It was nothing compared to what Hikaru went through as a host body."

"Which reminds me," Raine gained everyone's attention once more.   
"If Hikaru's crystal works just like an Exsphere, like she said, then won't something bad happen to her without a Key Crest?"

Satsuma shrugged again, shaking her head.

"I seriously don't know. Although it had been half a year since she got it implanted in her, she didn't say anything was wrong with her."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see, then." Artemis said, reddish brown eyes lingering on the ceiling.

On Hikaru's hand, the Excrystal glimmered a strange mixed aura of green and brown. They had no idea.

Hikaru: Oh no! Something bad's happening to me! Oh well, it's not real. Anyhow, please read and review!


	12. Pact With Mithos

Hikaru: Yes, I know that last chapter was rather short, but it's not like I have all the time in the world . . .which reminds me. I made a rather interesting discovery recently . . .

Raine: A discovery? You simply must share it with us!

Hikaru: I was looking at one of the Lord of the Rings bookmarks I bought at Barnes and Nobles, and it said that orcs were created from both man and elf. So, that means that all half-elves are orcs!

Raine/Genis/Harley/Mithos/Yuan/Martel/Desians/Renegades: HEY! WE AREN'T ORCS!

Raine: I simply refuse to believe I am of any relation to those hideous . . .things!

Hikaru: I can make you all orcs . . .

All half-elves:eerie silence:

Remiel: Hikaru doesn't own ToS.

Artemis gave out a weary sigh. Everyone else was still sitting in a disorderly circle, and silence was absolute after Satsuma explained the origin of her water-based prowess. After a few minutes completely devoid of conversation, Artemis felt the need to speak with Raine. He walked over to the half-elven teacher, whispering in her ear, "Raine, I need to talk to you. Alone."

Nodding, Raine stood up, announcing that she had to discuss something with Artemis. Nobody objected as the two of them took their leave. Once Artemis led Raine into the Exsphere manufacturing area, he stopped walking, turning to speak to the professor.

"Raine, we originally began traveling to New Heimdall in order to discover that Summon Spirit's true identity, right?"

"Yes, that's correct . . .why do you ask?" Raine replied, arms folded.

Artemis sighed, raking a hand through his jet-black hair.

"Well . . .I just thought that . . .since it's a Summon Spirit, the only thing we need to do is form a pact with it, right?"

Light bulbs and alarms exploded quite violently in Raine's head. She engaged in Ruin-Mode at once.

"Oh, my . . .! Why, Artemis! That's quite right! Why haven't I thought of it before?"

The young Exirian began to wonder whether he should have packed a straight jacket on this journey. His mother never warned him about this . . .phenomenon. Artemis shook his head. He had to keep his mind on the current situation.

"Anyway, theoretically, if we manage to forge a pact with that Summon Spirit, we should be able to both force it out of Colette and cause it to reveal its true identity."

Finally, Raine managed to control her euphoria to the point of being able to speak coherently. However, that familiar glint to her eyes didn't seem to want to ebb away.

"Be that as it may, Artemis, the only one with summoning arts that we know of is Sheena, and she's all the way at New Mizuho in the Iselia forest. Anyway, she's pregnant, so fighting a new Summon Spirit wouldn't seem like a very good idea."

The young guardian user fixed his gaze at his feet, a low chuckle escaping him. Raine, baffled, raised an eyebrow, wondering why on Symphonia he would be laughing in their current situation.

"Artemis Makoto, may I ask why you are laughing?"

When Artemis looked up at Raine, there an almost insane glint in his eyes, and a smirk was etched in his face. Suddenly Raine was instantly reminded of Mithos.

"Raine, Exire is a village of half-elves. Before the village became a floating city, one of my ancestors had Mithos the Hero teach him the art of summoning. It has been passed down in my family tree for almost four thousand years now . . ."

"But you didn't see fit to use it before now." Raine said.

Artemis shook his head, the inane look on his face gone.

"No, it's not that I didn't want to use it. I couldn't use it. My mother and father forbade me from leaving Exire, until word spread that the Giant Kharlan Tree had been reborn, and the worlds reunited, I sought my fortune on the surface."

Raine nodded.

"All right. When should we attempt to form the pact with 'Colette'?"

Artemis remained silent, thinking.

"I think we should do it now, while we have the chance. Once we get out of here, that Summon Spirit might run away again."

"Agreed. Let's head back."

Lloyd sighed, still staring at Colette. He didn't know why this Summon Spirit required a body, because there was simply no reason, unless, like Satsuma said, this Summon Spirit was not one of the ones he was familiar with, that this Summon Spirit needed a body in order to retain a physical presence. Still, he wondered how Colette came across the Summon Spirit in the first place. His wonderings were cut off when footsteps resonating against the metal floor announced the return of Artemis and Raine. Everyone was startled when Artemis shouted, "Summon Spirit! I am Artemis Makoto! I seek a pact with you!"

Colette's expression grew hostile. The Summon Spirit possessing her didn't want to form a pact, oh no, this is trouble he didn't want nor need. However, the ancient arts bound to him as a Summon Spirit wouldn't allow him to refuse Artemis' request for a pact. He had to fight them off.

"First, I must test your worth as a pact-maker!" Colette shouted, the second male's voice louder than the Chosen's.

Artemis drew his guardian cards, taking up his battle stance. Recognizing the beginnings of a fight, Lloyd took up arms, everybody else doing the same. The odds were six against one. Actually, Satsuma had to look after the still unconscious Hikaru, and Noishe, still new to his human body, decided to sit this one out. Lloyd made the first move. He raised his Material Blade, the two swords of fire and ice assimilating to create the Eternal Sword. He charged the Summon Spirit.

"Falcon's Crest!" He yelled, striking the Chosen's body with magical energy put forth from the Eternal Sword. Colette quickly recovered from the strong blow, teleporting next to Raine, attacking her. Artemis remedied this by executing his Holy Seal technique to drive her away from their healer. Smirking, glowing magenta angel feathers swirled around her.

"Retribution!"

A blue ring of light engulfed the party, inflicting them with both magical and physical ailments. Raine immediately countered this. She raised her oak staff.

"Purify!"

The melee fighters were cured of their physical ailments, and Genis soon followed up with Nullify(he trained with Raine, remember?). Lloyd narrowly dodged one of Colette's Pow Hammers, and Artemis covered up for him with Lightning Seal.

"Raging Beast!" Lloyd slammed against Colette, flooring her.

Genis raised his kendama.

"Meteor Storm!"

Giant flame-wreathed meteors rained down upon the battlefield, hitting Colette.

The Summon Spirit teleported away from its enemies to cast a spell.

"Spark Wave!"

"Guardian!"

Both Artemis and Lloyd used their defensive techs simultaneously, reducing the magical damage. Raine used Revitalize to restore health, and Genis used Cyclone. Judging from the way the Summon Spirit limply flew, Artemis could tell it was weakening. He started a Unison Attack.

"Let's go! Power Seal!"

"Sonic Thrust!"

"Indignation!"

"Ray!"

The Summon Spirit cried out in pain as its host was brutally beat, and Artemis and Lloyd executed a compound special attack.

"You ready? Power . . ." Artemis began.

" . . .Thrust!" Lloyd finished, performing Sonic Thrust with the effects of Power Seal on the Summon Spirit.

From the sidelines, Hikaru had awakened, and joined Satsuma and Noishe in cheering the fighters on.

"Go Genis!" Hikaru shouted, smiling for all it was worth.

"Yeah! Lloyd's special attacks are ultra cool!" Noishe yelled like a lovesick fangirl.

The Summon Spirit refused to give up so easily. It took no time for it to use another spell.

"Divine Meteor Storm!"

The fighting party automatically used their defensive techs all at once as the swarm of meteors hit. They didn't take much damage, however, just when the fighters thought it passed, another meteor swarm rained upon the battle zone, catching them off guard. Colette smirked.

"Retribution!"

Artemis found it increasingly difficult to strike the Summon Spirit.

From the sidelines, Satsuma administered first aid. She took out a Miracle Bottle, and cast a spell.

"Ready? Soul Cleansing!"

Instantly, the party's status ailments, both magical and physical, were lifted. Raine raised her staff, a white spell circle clearly visible at her feet.

"Revitalize!"

Lloyd moved in for the final blow that would render the Summon Spirit unable to fight any longer. He raised his Material Blade once more to join them into the Eternal Sword.

"Falcon's Crest!"

Colette fell to the floor, and could not get back up. Colette's body seemed to glow as a transparent something exited her body. The real Colette coughed, using her angel wings to get to her feet. However, she still looked like she was about to topple over.

"Colette!" Noishe ran to catch her as she fell again. He put a hand to her forehead.

"Cure," he whispered.

Colette groaned as she stirred in the Protozoan's arms. Noishe breathed a sigh of relief.

Artemis and the rest of the party shifted their attention to the transparent mist like substance that was now taking shape into a person. Lloyd, Raine and Genis gasped as the Summon Spirit's appearance became clear.

" . . .Mithos?" Lloyd breathed.

The blonde boy looked down upon his "shadow" disgust evident in his eyes. He averted his gaze to Artemis.

" . . .Make your vow already."

Artemis nodded.

"I vow to protect the Giant Kharlan Tree, and the world in which it watches over."

Mithos nodded, his image dissolving into gray particles. The particles condensed to form a small spinning sphere with rings around it. The sphere floated down to Artemis' hand, where his fingers closed around it, and he felt the Spirit's energy being absorbed into him.

Newly healed, Colette yelled to Lloyd to get his attention.

"Lloyd! We can't stay here! We have to go!"

Lloyd turned to Colette, confusion gracing his features.

" . . .Why? We haven't killed Nemesis yet."

Colette struggled to stand up, supported by Noishe.

"When Mithos as a Summon Spirit possessed me, I could feel what he was feeling! Nemesis has already escaped this base!"

Upon hearing this, Artemis' heart rate skyrocketed.

" . . .Yggdrasill . . ." he muttered.

"That's right! Nemesis, as a mindless monster, could end up killing Yggdrasill!" Genis yelled, panic lacing his voice.

Raine folded her arms, cerulean eyes downcast.

" . . .The power outage. That's how it got out."

In the semi-darkness, only one word made the tension complete.

"Dammit!"

Hikaru: Phew! Hope this shall make up for my lack of updates lately! Please Read and Review!


	13. Night in the Desert

Hikaru: I deeply apologize to all my faithful readers who have been awaiting my next update for this story. It's spring break now, so I shall try to update as often as possible.

Zelos: Yeah, you'll try.

Hikaru: And like Indignation wants, the "try" becomes a "will".

Genis: Besides which, she's still trying to figure out what shall happen next in her other stories, like Lapis Lazuli, Tales of Many Hunnies, Reckless, Legends of the Seven Sleepers, and a new one she hasn't typed yet, "Darkness of Heart" a ToS/Kingdom Hearts crossover.

Hikaru: No, Darkness of Heart is my Dark Cloud/Kingdom Hearts crossover, which I have also yet to type. Heart of Symphonia is the ToS/KH one.

Yuan: Whatever! Just get this chapter underway!

Hikaru: Fine, fine, somebody do the disclaimer.

Regal: Hikaru doesn't own anything that somebody else does. She only owns the storyline; plot flow, and her original characters.

The dark blanket of nighttime cast itself over the bloody lights of the dying sun as it sank below the desert horizon. Rich golden sand dunes paled to a gentle purple color, and numberless glimmering diamonds surrounded the white pearl that was the full moon in the sky. The vicious winds slowed to a mere occasional breeze, and halfway between the Sylvarant Base and the city of Triet is where a single party of eight made their campsite.

Two large canvas tents were pitched close together, and a single campfire smoldered, its puffs of ashy smoke blackening the already dark sky. Sitting beside the small fire were Raine and Artemis. The newly born summoner clutched in his hand a medium sized hardcover book. It had no title. Raine assumed Artemis felt he had to record all the events of this day in a journal for a reason she couldn't place. Instead of inquiring about his journal, Raine decided to ask him how he felt about all this mass confusion and danger.

"We . . .must exercise extreme caution around Lloyd." Was his reply.

Thin silver brow arched, Professor Raine adopted a curious look.

"Why? I know that we thought he was dead, but there is a slim chance that he didn't die."

Artemis shook his head.

"No, I mean that our Lloyd may in fact be one of the shape shifters."

The silver haired woman frowned, clenching her fists in the desert sands she was sitting in.

"You have a point. How can we tell?"

"When we all were separated in the Base, I learned something about Nemesis."

Raine sharply glanced at Artemis. He continued without waiting for her obvious question.

"You see . . .I found this sphere. It's strange; it plays a recorded event from a long time ago, like a miniature projector or something."

The Exirian guardian user fished something out of his vest pocket. In the dim light provided by the fire, Raine saw a small blue sphere, about the size of a tennis ball, clutched in Artemis' fingers. He moved his digits so that they cupped the object from below, and he pushed a tiny switch located on the bottom of the object. A somewhat muted beep was heard, and a holographic image folded out above the sphere. Raine was intrigued. It was indeed like a miniature projector. The hologram was of a single black haired Renegade scientist, clad in an impossibly white lab coat. His round glasses were slipping off the bridge of his nose; he pushed them up with his index finger.

"My Lord Leo, allow me to introduce the final product of our latest project: Nemesis, a self-evolving A.I. program. It thinks on its own, and acts on its own, meaning even I cannot predict what crazy methods it'll come up with. Physical force, psychological warfare, emotional sneak attacks . . .Nemesis is capable of all of that. It's designed as an assassination tool. Other than the abilities mentioned prior, Nemesis can sub-divide and create lesser clones of itself with some of its abilities. Nemesis is also a shape shifter, and can imitate any organism with its DNA running in its bloodstream. It can mimic any organism with unbelievable accuracy, from the inside out. It can even speak our language if taught. Surely this will be of some use to you in your endeavor to eliminate the remaining ang—"

Artemis shook his head again.

"It cuts off there. This means that Lloyd may in fact be either Nemesis itself or one of its first sub-divided selves. Or, he might be the real Lloyd by some weird fluke."

Raine sat frozen in her place, her cerulean eyes wide in fear. Her limbs trembled; she stared at Artemis' sphere with clouded eyes. Artemis arched his black eyebrows in bewilderment at Raine's out of place reaction.

" . . .Professor?"

"I thought we killed him . . .We killed him!" She shouted, standing up and taking an involuntary step back from Artemis.

"Killed who?"

Raine struggled to regain herself, to maintain her calm.

"Raphael Leonazium. At the beginning of the recording, the Renegade says 'Lord Leo' surely that's short for Leonazium. Besides which, at the end of the recording, he says that Nemesis will help him to kill all the remaining angels! It sounds like he almost said 'angels' anyway."

The older Sage sibling rummaged in her pocket for an age and found what she was searching for: the Nemespawn's heart she received from Lloyd in the Base. It was a purple crystal like object, but she could see a tiny fissure in its surface. Raine took a pocketknife she kept in her other pocket and used the blade to pry the surface from the crystal formation beneath it. Sure enough, the inside of the heart was designed like a miniature computer's motherboard. Numerous grooves wove in and out and around the black board, and a white spark shone in the center.

"A self-evolving A.I. program . . ." She murmured.

"Raine . . ." Artemis said, at a loss for words.

At the edge of the campsite, a certain blonde angel stood, gazing at the sky with eyes riddled in sorrow. She scuffed the sand she stood in, feeling the countless grains move about beneath her feet. Her stare averted from the sky to the sands coating the earth when a certain swordsman said aloud her name.

"Colette,"

She looked over her shoulder at Lloyd. He stood behind her, a good few feet away from where she stood. His reddish brown eyes showed no signs of general affection. They were dead serious. Colette's heart sank.

"What is it, Lloyd?"

"You owe me an explanation," He said.

Colette looked away from him, staring at the stars again. She once told him that looking at the stars made her feel safe. Right now, she prayed to them for both her forgiveness and salvation from their current situation at hand.

"About what?" She whispered meekly, not bothering to meet Lloyd's eyes. That expression he wore prior deeply hurt her. He did say that he was glad she was all right, but nothing more of concern than that. Equipped with her enhanced angelic hearing, Colette knew that Lloyd stayed where he stood. Her heart bled.

"You know what. How did Mithos come to possess you, and how did he become a Summon Spirit?"

At last, she turned to face him, her face showing no traceable sign of fear or meekness. She returned his stern gaze.

"We all thought you'd died a few months ago."

Taken aback, Lloyd stepped backward in surprise. His eyes went wide with apprehension.

"What are you . . .talking about? I never died! Sheena, Noishe, and I were all locked up in the Sylvarant Base for a few months. She's not in there anymore that I know. I searched for her, and I failed to find her. She escaped. As for me, here I am," he somewhat shakily replied.

Colette's throat caught. What did Lloyd mean that he was trapped in the base this whole time? Sheena brought him back when he caught that illness . . .

"Didn't Sheena bring you back to Dirk's house when you got sick?" She asked, fear lacing her query.

Lloyd shook his head a little wildly, folding his arms thereafter. He fought to keep his ground, refusing to let fear get to him.

"Shortly after the three of us reached Triet, Noishe evolved again, and he suggested that we look for Exspheres in the Sylvarant Base. We went according to his suggestion, and we were trapped for a time. Sheena managed to escape, but Noishe and I were still in there until you and others came."

Colette couldn't speak for a moment. This meant that everything that happened prior to this . . .didn't happen? She shook her head.

"No . . .! We cured your illness, and then Raphael was after us! He murdered you, then Kratos committed suicide!" She nearly screamed. How could it be that that didn't happen?

"Dad killed himself! No! That can't be!" Lloyd shot back at the blonde angel angrily. He stared at his feet, eyes welling up with thick droplets that were tears.

"He's still alive! I just know it!"

"Then why is Derris-Kharlan empty? Why does his grave lie next to yours and Anna's?" Colette serenely asked, despite the obvious fear and confusion in her eyes.

Lloyd looked up at her, furiously wiping away his unnecessary tears. He knew Kratos was still alive somewhere, whether he was on Derris-Kharlan or not. Lloyd was never quick to lose faith.

"You still haven't answered my question about Mithos,"

The blonde angel sighed, azure eyes downcast, gazing at the pale sands beneath her. There wasn't any way to avoid this any longer.

"I thought you were killed, so I tried to bring you back to life, using Abbysion's book that raises the dead."

Lloyd shook his head, no.

"That can't be. We burned it!"

Colette returned the headshake, disagreeing with him. From her seriousness, Lloyd could see she wasn't lying. However, he still believed what he did.

"In Abbysion's house in Flanoir, he had copies of the book. I got one, and headed to the Temple of Darkness to perform the ritual."

Tears brimmed up in the corners of her lapis lazuli eyes; clearly, she was greatly ashamed by her actions.

"But instead of raising your soul, as I had hoped, I raised Mithos' soul. He told me that his soul was raised over yours because he had a greater desire to live. He became a Summon Spirit because of that and the immense mana around the ritual site that gathered there. With those factors mixed together, Mithos became a juvenile Summon Spirit and possessed me."

Colette, at the least, expected a friendly hug from her childhood friend as he always gave her at times like this, but she felt nothing. Lloyd stayed where he stood, as if rooted to the spot. With some felt bloodshed, Colette knew that she wanted him. But she couldn't have him. He belonged to Sheena . . . And she belonged to him. Speaking of Sheena . . .Colette gasped.

"Lloyd! Are you saying that Sheena never moved the people of Mizuho yet!" She demanded, all self-pity leaving her.

Lloyd slowly shook his head, no.

"She never did. She planned to once our journey ended . . ."

Colette gave another gasp in realization. If Sheena never moved the people of Mizuho, and if Lloyd never fell victim to illness, like he said, then . . . was the first Mizuho still in Tethe'alla?

Colette felt dizzy. She pushed past Lloyd, toward Professor Raine and Artemis. The two others stood to meet her, baffled. The angel took Raine by the shoulders.

"Raine! I think . . .that Sheena's not her!"

Bewildered beyond all reason, Raine gently pushed Colette off her, instead taking her shoulders.

"Slow down. What do you mean?"

"Did you see Chief Igaguri or Vice Chief Tiga? Did Orochi or Sheena mention them at all!" Colette quipped.

"Now that you mention it . . ." Raine gasped. She shook her head, no.

Colette nodded.

"Let's go back to Tethe'alla to make sure Chief Igaguri is still there."

Hikaru: I hoped you all liked it! Please review! Happy belated Easter!


	14. Going Back to Iselia

Hikaru: Fourteenth chapter of The Innocent. Not much more to say except I'm eternally grateful for my ONLY reviewer of recent chapters. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

King of Tethe'alla: Ms. Irving doesn't own Tales of Symphonia.

"I think you're enjoying this a little too much, Genis," Lloyd said through gritted teeth as the little half-elf climbed onto the older swordsman's back. Lloyd hoisted the child as he stood up, getting a firm grip on his legs. Genis clung to Lloyd's neck like a tiny five-year-old, and even started giggling like one. The prospect of Lloyd giving Genis a piggyback ride didn't exactly fill him with joy. Genis wasn't heavy, but to Lloyd this was a humiliating experience. The brunette shot a glance at the only other angel in the immediate vicinity.

"This is all your fault, Colette."

Colette responded with a giggle. Since the way to Triet would be quite a long one, Colette suggested that she and Lloyd carry everybody there since they could fly. Of course, one person per angel would suffice. While Lloyd was burdened with a hysterical Genis, Colette decided to take Artemis, as he was only a bit older than Genis and almost weighed the same. Raine promised to watch the rest of the party until they return, pick up some other couple of people, and so on until the whole of the party relocated to Triet. Genis shielded his eyes with one hand, studying the sunny day. The pale blue sky was peppered with the occasional white fluff of cloud, and small yet strong breezes carried dunes of sand about the whole desert region. Noishe helped Raine pack up the canvas tents used the night before, tying them up and strapping them on his back, like an odd-looking backpack. The Iselian professor flipped her short silver-blue hair behind her shoulder, squaring her shoulders as she slipped in her orange coat. Satsuma busied herself with the task of cleaning off her silver-rimmed glasses, and Hikaru, finding nothing better to do, had taken out the ribbon that bound her brunette hair previously and took the initiative in brushing it neatly. Artemis finally worked up the nerve to climb onto Colette's back, a small blush creeping upon his cheeks as the teenage angel rose from her earlier crouching position, adjusting her arms so that they secured Artemis' legs firmly. She gave Lloyd an almost coy expression as she willed her violet wings to appear on her back. Artemis gasped when they did, for angels' crystalline wings were insubstantial, and passed through solid objects.

"Ready, Lloyd?" She asked him.

Lloyd gritted his teeth again, ignoring Genis' giggles. It had been a while since he last used his wings to fly, so it took him a while for his wings to materialize. It was Genis' turn to gasp.

"Hey, Lloyd! Your wings . . .they're . . ."

Lloyd impatiently nodded, noting the last weak glimmers of the fading red feathers falling to the small hills of sand below him. His wings were not more than thrice his arm length, as they had been before, but they were similar in shape to Kratos' and they took on a bleeding red color. In truth, it took Lloyd and Sheena a long time to alter his wings to look like that, thus he became rather proud of them. He glanced at Genis over his shoulder.

"Ready, Genis?"

The silver-haired half-elf nodded, carefully wrapping his small arms about Lloyd's neck, but as to choke him in mid-flight. He barely heard Raine's concerned warning to be careful on the flight as he leapt off the sandy earth, Colette quick to join him in the skies. The two boys riding the angels each gave out a high-pitched squeal as they became airborne. Artemis, not wanting to be too much of a burden on Colette, tightly grasped her shoulders, unlike Genis, who was now holding onto Lloyd's neck for dear life, despite the firm hold the older boy had on his legs.

"This is . . .nothing like a Rheaird," Genis muttered under his breath.

Lloyd became dimly aware of the smirk pulling at his lips. As a spur of the moment sort of thing, Lloyd dismissed his wings, resulting in a dead drop to the desert sands from the high skies. Genis screamed like a little girl.

"Lloyd!" He screamed, his grip transforming into a python's as he and the angel he was with plummeted to the earth below.

In less than a minute, Lloyd's wings unfurled from his shoulders, and the savior of Symphonia hastily climbed the skies again, rejoining Colette and Artemis. Both of them sported looks that suggested they'd seen firsthand the dead climb out of their graves. Lloyd broke into a fit of hysterical laughter, the corners of his eyes becoming moist with tears. In an attempt of revenge, Genis grabbed fistfuls of Lloyd's brown hair streaked with the occasional red, and pulled hard.

"Ow! Genis!" The teen hero whined, shaking his head as though that alone could get the little boy pulling on him to stop.

"Don't do that again, Lloyd!" Genis scolded, clicking his tongue in evident distaste.

"Fine, fine . . ." Lloyd murmured, relief flooding through him as the oasis city of Triet came within range of his vision. Colette began her descent, Lloyd following suit. Within moments, the two angels had landed before the city's inn. Their dramatic entry attracted both a lot of odd stares and people, which made Lloyd very uncomfortable, if not downright embarrassed. He hastily let Genis set foot on the ground, almost dropping him in the process. Artemis slid to the earth a little more gracefully, blushing furiously as he felt the desert people examining him. Lloyd decided it was time to go when somebody opened their shutters at the upper inn floor to get a good look at the angels who had just descended from the heavens, giving two nonangelic people piggyback rides, children nonetheless.

"Let's go, Colette," Lloyd said in a rush, grabbing Colette by the wrist and, after telling Artemis and Genis to rent a room in the inn, taking off once more to retrieve Hikaru and Satsuma next, Raine and Noishe shortly thereafter.

When the entire group was present in Triet, the desert dwellers still gave the two angels odd looks, although their wings were put away. Raine, without any further ado, ushered the remaining party into the inn room Artemis and Genis rented, which turned out to be free of charge when it was apparent they were in the angel's favor.

Genis, who had been looking almost wistfully out the open window while he waited for the latter to return, about faced as he heard the door open. He was on them in an instant.

"About time you guys got here! Honestly, the people here have been acting like our servants, getting us the best room and free of charge, et cetera, et cetera."

Lloyd sheepishly shook his head, muttering an apology to his younger best friend. Colette only proceeded to take a seat on the edge of one of the four beds there. Satsuma and Hikaru leaned against one wall, finding comfort in that. Noishe took the liberty to sit next to Colette, while Raine found it comfortable standing where she was. Of Artemis there was no sign. Putting that aside, Raine announced matter-of-factly,

"Now that we're here, I have a question for you two,"

She gave the half-elven sisters leaning on the wall a stern look. Hikaru fiddled with the ends of her hair, which had been put into a long braid, listlessly, whilst Satsuma only returned Raine's look. Taking that a sign to continue, Raine said,

"Hikaru has told us that your father was last seen in this area or city when you were separated half a year ago. When your father escaped Kvar's human ranch, that is. Do you intend to look for him?"

The two half-elven sisters remained silent. Hikaru's amber eyes skimmed over the intricate weavings of the rug lying on the floor of the rented room before she worked up the nerve to answer the teacher's question.

" . . .Yes . . .but . . .I heard from Yuan that you and Lloyd liberated Kvar's human ranch half a year prior to our meeting. I take it you didn't see an elf man there?"

Raine sadly shook her head, feeling sympathy for the sisters. Their mother probably died as a host body for the Desians, and their father was nowhere to be found. She focused on another matter that had been bugging her ever since she met the sisters.

"Satsuma, why are you and Hikaru traveling on your own? I understand that you can manipulate water as Undine's underling, and Hikaru the roots of the Giant Kharlan Tree . . .so, why?"

Satsuma didn't quite meet Raine's eyes when she replied, staring at her feet.

"It's all my fault. In Tethe'alla, we heard that a once prosperous forest village was being rebuilt. That village, Ozette, is where Hikaru and I went after word of world reunification got around. The buildings were enough restored so people can actually live there, but the forest surrounding it . . . were still quite charred from its being burned. I asked if we could help rebuild, and they said yes. So I suggested to Hikaru that we help restore the actual forest by my conjuring water to wash out the remains of the first forest, and Hikaru could restore the trees . . .but one of the authority figures caught us. He wasn't against it, but he sure seemed intrigued, so he contacted the researchers in Sybak to pick us up for interrogation of our powers and even research us and maybe experimentation . . ."

The whole room resounded with low awes of understanding. It became clear now. Hikaru and Satsuma didn't want to be test subjects as they had been before, so they ran back to Sylvarant. As a result, Tethe'allan scientists have gotten the Tethe'allan police to help recover them. A smile crept upon Raine's lips as she turned around, opening the inn door. Genis arched a thin silver eyebrow, confused.

"Raine, where are we going?"

Raine didn't turn back to face her little brother; she only made indications to follow her lead.

"If Hikaru and Satsuma don't want to be caught, they have to at least get different clothes . . ."

Hikaru sighed, putting a hand against her temple. How she hated clothes shopping. Not the shopping itself, but how it wore her out afterwards. She murmured something akin to a "fine," following Raine, the others padding after them.

"Oh, come on, I don't like dresses!" Hikaru stated firmly as Raine led her about a merchant's stall in the marketplace of Triet that mainly sold the dresses the wealthier women wear in the desert. Raine gave the adolescent behind her a coy smile.

"Fine, fine, let's check out skirts then!"

Hikaru sighed again, desperately wishing for Raine to be more practical. Why, she mainly wore men's clothes, save for her jacket. She wanted to be with Satsuma, who had run off with Genis to look at new weapon and armor imports from Tethe'alla. Colette and Noishe ran off to find Artemis . . .which left Hikaru with the professor. She didn't mind that, no, she had taken a fondness to Raine, but she wished for the teacher to be more practical . . .

"Raine . . .I would prefer pants or shorts, with a long tunic or something . . .oh! A trench coat! I've wanted one for _ages!_" Hikaru declared gleefully, giddily clapping her hands together.

Raine nodded, folding her arms, eyes searching the marketplace. Her azure eyes fell upon a stall that looked like it sold chiefly goods imported from all over the world, even from Mizuho. She gently gave Hikaru's arm a tug, pointing out the stall to her. Hikaru spied elven works among the fabulous inventory of foreign outfits. A soft "ooh," escaped her lips as she made her way toward the stall. The man operating it looked up as both half-elf women approached his wares, a sly smile gracing his lips. His light blue eyes sparkled with excited familiarity when he sighted Professor Raine, fixing his long red hair, which was gathered up and tied in a bun on top of his head, whilst adjusting his casual wear of a men's kimono from Mizuho.

"Why, nice to see you again, my Gorgeous Ultra Cool Beauty!"

Raine groaned, putting her fingers against her temple.

"Hello again, Zelos," she said, already proceeding to look at his wares.

Hikaru did the same, while Zelos took in her slim build, long legs and delicate fingers lingering over some elven cloaks. Her eyes caught his.

"Hmm? You picked up a new hunny in my absence?" he asked Raine.

She mutely nodded, muttering a rushed explanation of how she met Hikaru and her older sister, still trying to look for an adequate "disguise" for Hikaru.

Zelos continued studying Hikaru for a moment more before deciding on her nickname.

"Well, then, I shall call you . . ."

Hikaru sharply looked up at Zelos, her expression dangerous.

"Hikaru is what you will call me, you pervert."

Zelos gasped in mock surprise, bare hands clamped over his mouth.

"Is my reputation _that _well-known?"

Hikaru nodded mutely much in the same manner as Raine had. Raine asked Zelos a question that suddenly popped into her mind.

"Zelos, why are you a merchant now? In Triet?"

Zelos nodded.

"Well, the real reason is that in Tethe'alla, old man Igaguri and Tiga have asked me to look for Sheena, who has been missing out of action from Mizuho for half a year now. They knew of Sheena's going with Lloyd on his journey, but she never failed to send word of their progress every week. So, they sent me around the world as a merchant to gather information on Sheena's whereabouts, and Lloyd's while I'm at it."

Raine's jaw dropped a few feet, her body numbly registering shock. Zelos quirked an eyebrow, apparently irked by Raine's reaction. He asked her what he had said that made her act like so. She somewhat detachedly filled Zelos in on what had been happening since Artemis appeared. The redheaded former Chosen widened his cobalt eyes, thoroughly stunned at Raine's current predicament.

"So you came here next when you heard that Sheena was here last?" Raine asked. Zelos replied with a dazed nod, still apparently disbelieving. Hikaru, completely disregarding the conversation, quipped in,

"By the way, Zelos, we have Lloyd and Noishe fully evolved as a human with us now, just to let you know,"

Zelos gave out a shuddery gasp, taking an involuntary step back in a daze. Hikaru merely went back to browsing for new outfits from Zelos' inventory. The former Chosen of Mana pulled the pin out of his hair, causing it to flow down past his shoulders, escaping its bun. Zelos quickly undid the sash keeping his kimono together, underneath which he wore a plain black T-shirt and blue jeans, putting the kimono on a nearby chair. He placed a wooden sign on the table where all his goods were on display, which read that he would return after break.

"Listen, I'm really here to locate Sheena, so you and Hikaru just take what you need and go about whatever you were going to do. Okay, Raine?"

Raine nodded.

"Yes, that's fine, and thank you."

With another curt nod, Zelos departed, leaving Raine alone with Hikaru and the vacated merchant stall. The professor seemed pensive for a scant moment or two, before finally speaking to her only companion.

"Hikaru, if our Lloyd is indeed who he seems to be, then . . . What about his grave at Dirk's house? Kratos' grave is there, too, so . . ."

"May I ask why you're talking to me about this? If you're saying that Lloyd never died, like he said, then are you saying that it's possible since Nemesis got out of the base, it's sub-divided selves have as well?" Hikaru asked, picking out a plain green sleeve-less shirt, light brown pants, brown shoes, and a small rich green cloak decorated with various sizes of amber stones sewed into the lightweight but sturdy fabric. Raine folded her arms, tapping her foot on the ground, lost in thought. When she spoke, it wasn't to Hikaru.

"If that's true, then maybe we should go back to the Iselia region . . ."

She noticed Hikaru's clothing of choice.

"Uh . . .are you trying to resemble a tree in human form?"

Hikaru huffed indignantly.

"Hey! I don't want those researchers recognizing me, so won't this make me look like an elven spell caster? Besides, I want to get more in touch with my elven heritage."

Raine nodded, turning to leave with Hikaru in tow.

"We'd better find the rest of the group and move out while we still can," she said. When her younger companion didn't say anything in response, she looked over her shoulder to see Hikaru leaving a small brown bag of Gald on the table, presumably for Zelos. She carried her purchases over her shoulder, and to Raine, it looked as though it'd be best if she changed clothes first.

"Let's go back to the inn so you can change, Hikaru, then we'll go, all right?"

Hikaru gave the professor an impatient nod, almost running to the suggested inn so she could put on her new outfit.

"Hey, Colette! Like my new outfit?" Noishe called out to the last of Sylvarant's Chosen Ones, a childish grin gracing his face. Colette clapped, smiling just as childishly, apparently approving of Noishe's clothing of choice. He had discarded his previous outfit of a white trench coat, black pants and white shirt for an attire of a green sleeveless shirt with a brown vest over it that had sliver buckles to hold the vest closed, brown gloves that stopped at the elbow, dark green pants, and brown leather boots that stopped at the knee, over the pants. Noishe continued grinning, folding his hands behind his head. Colette noted a considerable change in Noishe's height.

"Noishe . . .did you get taller?" she asked, feeling rather awkward. Instead of looking like he thought he questioned Colette's sanity, Noishe nodded again, his grin broadening.

"Since I'm a protozoan, I can change my human form to however old or young I want it to be, like Mithos could because he was a lifeless being. Make sense?"

Colette nodded.

"So, how old are you now? Last time, you were only a little older than Genis,"

Noishe's rich emerald eyes glanced at the sky for a brief moment before answering.

"Uhm . . .I'd say about your age, Colette," he said, looking directly into her lapis lazuli orbs as he did.

"Hey, you two! What'cha up to?"

Noishe whirled around to see who had ruined the moment. Artemis Makoto came running up to them, from what seemed to be the oasis. Colette shrugged, cocking her head to one side as if to say, "oh, well," or something along those particular lines. Artemis didn't change clothes, however he did wear a sliver pendant, which had intricate carvings over it. It was oval shaped, and dimly reminded Colette of something . . .

"Nah, nothing much. You?" Noishe said, putting his sword scabbard on a belt, buckling it around his waist, replacing his weapon a moment later. Artemis shrugged, adjusting his vest so that it covered his necklace. Colette wondered if he did that unintentionally or on purpose.

"Just checking out the oasis. I bought some supplies while I was there, so nobody needs to worry about that now," Artemis answered, stretching his arms out.

"Hey, Artemis. Why did you join Raine and Genis when you wanted to find out which Summon Spirit Colette was possessed by before you formed a pact with it?" Noishe asked, hands on his hips, like he was suspicious over him for a reason Colette couldn't place. The fifteen-year-old boy in question folded his arms over his chest in response, his red eyes appearing distant.

"I just wanted to help."

Noishe nodded, taking that answer as good enough.

"Have you seen Lloyd anywhere?" Colette inquired of the Exirian guardian user. Artemis shook his head, no. Noishe immediately glanced skywards, just in time to see a speck flying north of Triet.

"Ah, look. Lloyd probably wants to visit Dirk, since it's been almost half a year since he saw him last," the protozoan said as a matter-of-factly.

"Uh-oh . . ." Colette murmured, staring at the speck in the sky that was Lloyd flying out of sight.

Artemis glanced at Colette, confusion practically written all over his face. He unfolded his arms, instead leaving them hanging at his sides.

"What's wrong, Colette?"

"Lloyd doesn't know that Dirk also thought he died," the angel replied. She gave Artemis a stern glance.

"Artemis, I want to you to find Professor Raine and everyone else. Tell them all to move out to the Iselia Forest as quickly as possible. I'm going to follow him."

Without waiting for the boy's consent, Colette willed her wings to materialize on her back, jumping into the air to get airborne. In nothing more than a few scant moments, Colette gained the same altitude that Lloyd had, flying north. Artemis silently cursed, grabbing Noishe by the wrist and pulling him along to find Raine.

"Oh! A dragon-shaped kendama! Awesomeness!" Genis nearly squealed, looking at a weapon merchant's stall that displayed many different types of weapons, including magic channeling weapons such as kendamas. A particular kendama, silver and shaped like a dragon with outspread wings with a blood red ruby studded in its chest had caught Genis' eye. Near him, Satsuma was looking over a variety of different dual handheld guns, such as pistols, like the ones she had now, black magnums, and a special type of magnums and pistols that could shoot ammo that was enchanted with magical energy. Before they came here, Satsuma didn't alter her attire in any way save for a sleek black trench coat. She adjusted her glasses, making sure she was reading the price tags correctly.

"Hey, I'd like these enchanted magnums, please," she called over the merchant, asking questions about the guns, like if they were enchanted permanently or just temporarily. Genis eyed the female half-elf buying her new weapon, and couldn't help but to feel a little jealous. He hadn't enough Gald for the dragon kendama, and he knew they were to move out soon. Genis sighed, looking at the kendama wistfully.

"What's wrong, Genis?" Satsuma asked, placing her new guns in her holsters, putting her old ones in her item bag. Genis shook his head, still staring at the kendama. Satsuma saw right through the kid's act and shoved a bunch of Gald in his hand.

"Treat yourself to a new kendama, kid," she winked at him.

Genis flipped.

"Satsuma, I love you!" He nearly shouted, tackling the other half-elf in a bear hug.

"O-okay, people are staring, Genis, get off," she muttered, struggling to stand up again. Genis released the gunner, smiling like she was the Goddess of Happiness or something or another. He bought the dragon kendama, hugging it like it was his cuddly teddy bear.

"I never thought you'd go for older women, brat,"

Genis looked up to see the last person he wanted to see.

"Good morning to you, too, Zelos," Genis said coldly with a mean-spirited scowl.

Zelos laughed, stroking his chin.

"I'm just joking around, Genis, don't get mad."

Satsuma extended her hand in a gesture of friendship.

"Hello, I'm Satsuma. Pleased to meet you, Chosen of Tethe'alla. Have you met my little sister, Hikaru?"

Zelos noted the almost strained smile on Satsuma's face. He gave out a weary sigh. It seems as if she knew his "reputation" as well. He nodded listlessly, folding his arms.

"Yes, I met Hikaru, and she doesn't seem very fond of me."

Genis snickered.

"Gee, I wonder why?"

Zelos gently bopped the little half-elf on top of his head. He focused on more important matters than as to why people, especially certain young women, didn't like him very much.

"Hey, Genis, Raine told me that Lloyd's alive, and Sheena's somewhere in this area, according to Lloyd. She also told me about Nemesis and the Nemespawn. Why don't we go to Iselia?"

Genis arched an eyebrow.

"Why Iselia?"

"I just thought that since Nemesis and its spawn can imitate people's appearances astutely, maybe what happened half a year ago between Raphael and us wasn't what we thought it was."

"What?"

Zelos sighed again.

"We thought that Lloyd had fallen ill and Sheena brought him to Dirk's house, right? Well, we do know that Project Nemesis was brought into action even while Yuan was still alive. And since Yuan had left the Sylvarant base alone, it's possible that some Nemespawn have reached Iselia . . .in the forms of Sheena and Lloyd."

Genis gasped, stepping backward involuntarily.

"What . . .?"

"So if we assume that those Nemespawn were meant to assassinate us all, then those have failed because of Raphael. He thought that Lloyd was a real angel, not a shape shifter."

Genis shook his head, still trying to process what Zelos had just said.

"You're not making any sense!"

"Genis, listen to me. Nemesis, a self-evolving A.I. program, is meant by its creators as an assassination tool. It can do things like psychological warfare, use physical force, and _emotional sneak attacks. _Nemesis may be intelligent, but not its sub-divisions. It's entirely possible that Nemespawn took on the appearance of Sheena and Lloyd, maybe even Kratos, and used Raphael to carry out its missions. So now we can assume that now that's done, the Sheena in New Mizuho in Iselia is in fact _a shape shifter. _So if we go to Iselia, we can make sure. One way is to check Lloyd and Kratos' graves to see if there are any Nemespawn traces, such as its core system, otherwise known as its heart, and the other one is to see the Sheena in New Mizuho. The old one is still in Tethe'alla."

Genis nodded, getting a handle on what Zelos was saying. So they were deceived the whole time, from the time Lloyd "got sick" half a year ago.

"Okay, I get that, but why did Nemesis choose to assassinate us?"

"You don't get that? We saved the planet. So wouldn't Nemesis want to see what it could do against people like that?"

Genis slowly nodded, his hand delving into his pocket, where he kept a pocketknife. Hand hidden in his pocket, Genis pressed a switch the extended the short but sharp blade.

"I see . . ." Genis said, stepping toward Zelos.

In a lightning-quick movement, Genis grabbed the former Chosen's hand, and taking out the handheld knife, stabbed Zelos' palm and yanked on the blade so that it tore a great gaping wound in his hand. Satsuma yelled, "Genis!" while Zelos cried out in pain. Genis smirked. Instead of human red blood, Zelos was bleeding blood that was light blue, and thick like gelatin.

"Just like I thought," Genis said, taking his new kendama and casting a spell.

"Grave!"

At the last moment, Zelos leapt backward, turned his back on Genis, and ran deeper into the marketplace, out of sight. Genis gaped.

"Uh-oh . . ."

Nemespawn were on the loose in Triet.

Hikaru: Phew! Four thousand six hundred twenty-one words! Please Review!


	15. Chase That Nemespawn!

Hikaru: Yayness! Thank you SO much for the review last chapter, MoonCannon!

Zelos: That last chapter, what I said to Genis was so confusing.

Hikaru: Only because you weren't paying attention.

Presea: Hikaru Irving does not own Tales of Symphonia, for if she did, everything would be . . .chaos . . .furthermore, Hikaru lacks the needed skills for designing a game story of that magnitude.

Hikaru: HEY!

Raine's heart almost exploded in her chest when she heard and felt the magic spell being cast in the middle of the marketplace. Hikaru, clad in her new attire, also felt it. The two half-elven women glanced at one another before racing off to the source of the spell. As they drew nearer, a certain redheaded Chosen ran into Hikaru.

"Hey! Zelos?" Hikaru fell to the ground on her rump, and when she got up again, Zelos was long gone.

Raine was surprised to see the caster of the previous powerful offensive spell. Genis was holding a new kendama, swearing under his breath.

"Genis Sage! Why the hell did you do that? What did Zelos do?"

Genis huffed indignantly, still holding his dragon kendama.

"What did he do? He's a Nemespawn!"

"Oh, jolly good joy," Hikaru said, folding her arms.

Satsuma loaded her new magnums with enchanted ammunition, looking for all the world like she was hunting something. Hikaru gave her older sister a jealous glare.

"You punk! I wanted a trench coat!"

Satsuma shook her head, half a smile creeping upon her lips.

"Whatever, Hikaru, you're a magic user now, right?"

The younger half-elf shook her head.

"Magic user and alchemist. Remember that Dad taught me?"

Genis growled in frustration, pushing past the arguing sisters and running after the would-be Zelos. The other half-elves stood where they were for a few scant moments prior to rushing after Genis, avoiding the stunned townsfolk who had witnessed firsthand the little boy's assault on the former Chosen of Tethe'alla.

Noishe yanked his wrist out of Artemis' grasp when he saw quite a disturbance in the town square, where most of the market stalls that sold the important items were set up. When the dust and screams settled, Noishe saw the wickedly sharp jagged slabs of rock that could only be conjured by the Grave spell receding into the sandy earth.

"Who the hell . . .?" he whispered.

"It must have been someone we know. Let's go," Artemis replied, increasing his walk to a quick jog.

Noishe shrugged, racing after the black haired guardian user.

Just as the two boys reached the scene, they sighted the retreating backs of Professor Raine, Genis, Hikaru, and Satsuma. Noishe gave his companion a startled glance. Artemis shook his head, he didn't know. However, they were instructed to find Raine and the others, so he sported after the rest of the group. The last protozoan followed, his right hand traveling to grip the hilt of his short sword. He might need it.

Running takes a lot of energy, especially in the desert. Genis always hated running, ever since he first took the running test thing in P.E. in sixth grade. Whenever he ran for a considerable distance, his knees always hurt and his ankles felt like they were disconnected. His lungs burned, and sometimes he even coughed up some mucus stuck in his throat. And right now, he found that he wanted to run for as long as he could, until he could at least catch sight of the damned Nemespawn that portrayed as Zelos. It got the personality of Zelos correct, that was for certain, yet it made a mistake. When it was talking to Genis, it said too much, made too much hypotheses, and when it was talking to Raine, spoke to her as if it knew Lloyd wasn't dead. That had to mean something.

As for the actual New Mizuho . . .Genis became certain that the Sheena, Orochi, and even the townsfolk, weren't real humans. He didn't see Igaguri there or Tiga, and neither Sheena nor Orochi mentioned them. Genis surmised that all the answers they needed about the shape shifters presence lay in Iselia, in Kratos and Lloyd's presumed graves. If what that Nemespawn posing as Zelos said was true, then they were deceived from the very beginning, from the time they thought Lloyd got sick.

"It looks like it was headed for the desert!" Raine exclaimed when the town gate came into view.

Genis, as well as some others, like Hikaru, stopped running, panting for breath. Sure enough, not very far from the gate, a figure was spied running in the desert. Genis looked around.

"Where're Lloyd and Colette?" he asked nobody in particular.

"They went to Iselia, and we're to follow them," Artemis replied, not waiting to resume chasing after the Nemespawn.

Genis looked at Raine. She gave him a meaningful glance that said, "Yes, we're following them to Iselia, whether you like it or not," before pursuing Artemis. He looked at the half-elven sisters. They, too, ran after his older sister. With a shrug, Genis followed them, Noishe close behind him.

Forest, forest, forest. Everywhere she looked, there was forest. It was exactly two weeks since she made her escape, and she had absolute faith that her love would make it out as well. Her suspicions were confirmed when she spied him flying in the skies today, toward the village she was going to. Now that the burden of worrying about him was lifted from her shoulders, she dashed all out to where the thick trees were thinnest. The morning sun's heat was minimal, out here in the grasslands, and the day looked perfectly cheerful. In the far distant north, she saw the tiny arrangement of toys that was the village of Iselia. She cringed when she felt a twinge of abdominal discomfort. He kept telling her, "Wait until we're married," but she had coaxed him into it.

Sheena Fujibayashi took a guardian card, and a spell circle spelled out in runes which Spirit she was summoning.

"I call upon the source of Heaven, Earth, and everything in between . . . I summon thee; come, Origin!"

The four-armed Summon Spirit appeared at his summoner's whim, inhumanly blue eyes questioning as to why Sheena summoned him when there appeared to be no danger.

"Sorry to call you here so suddenly, Origin, but I need to know. Has Lloyd escaped from the Sylvarant base alive?"

Origin nodded almost lazily.

"Yes, Lloyd is alive, and is heading to the Iselia Forest as of now."

"Okay, thanks, Origin. And I'm sorry that you didn't get to do anything out here."

Origin shook his head, a sly smile etched in his features.

"No, don't apologize. This is the only time I ever get to see the outside of Torent Forest."

With that, Sheena dismissed the almighty Summon Spirit, setting her sights on the northern village of oracles, Iselia.

Once again, the group of six crossed the desert border over into the grasslands region north of the Triet Desert, still trying to keep up with the Zelos impersonating Nemespawn. At one point, Genis had tripped, however, he got up so quickly afterwards that it didn't appear as if anything broke his pace. His vigorous running now would make his old P.E. teacher proud. Artemis quit thinking of unimportant matters, trying not to think of the pain searing his ankles and knees as he focused on the fleeing Nemespawn quite a ways away from his band.

_Damn, for such scrawny legs, it sure can run, _the Exirian guardian user thought, struggling to fill his lungs with air, only partially aware of how hard his legs were hitting the ground, each step taking him farther north. Ahead of him were Raine and Noishe, a little ways behind them were Satsuma and Hikaru, and Genis was at the rear of the party. How long had they been chasing the shape shifter? All the way from Triet to the route to Iselia, that's for certain. Artemis became dimly aware that they were already halfway to the village of oracles, where Lloyd, Genis, Raine, and Colette had lived for most of their lives.

Finally, half the group collapsed, unable to progress any further. Since Raine and Genis sported Exspheres, they weren't half as worn out, but those who weren't using Exspheres: Hikaru, Satsuma, Noishe, and Artemis, just practically dropped to the earth the moment they couldn't go on. Raine knelt down, observing the heavily panting people attempting to regain their breath and energy.

"Are all of you all right?"

Noishe feebly lifted his head, half a smirk pulling at his lips.

"Oh, yes, Raine, we're just dandy doodle! Except we're hot, tired, and not to mention thirsty . . ."

In that moment, there was a bright flash of baby blue light, and all of a sudden, the four tired young people found themselves drenched in what appeared to be a flash flood of purified fresh water that seemingly came out of thin air.

"Hey, I feel better!" Artemis exclaimed, leaping to his feet.

"Satsuma, couldn't you have done that?" Hikaru asked, squeezing the excess water out of her elven cloak.

Genis and Raine paused. Only one thing could do that, and the only person that could summon the Maiden of the Mist is . . .

"Sheena!" Raine glanced behind her shoulder to see the woman ninja sprinting out to meet them.

Sure enough, the Professor saw the last of a light blue spell circle fading from the summoner's feet, and felt intense mana about her that could only come from summoning a Spirit.

"Why are you here? Weren't you in New Mizuho?" Raine inquired.

A bemused expression donned Sheena's face. She shrugged her shoulders. "New Mizuho? We haven't even started to move the people from the Mizuho in Tethe'alla."

Raine froze, as did everyone else. Everyone else besides Genis, that is. The young half-elven boy smirked, folding his arms across his chest, a light chuckle escaping his lips.

"Just as I thought . . ." The rest of the band sharply turned his or her gazes to the little chef, eyebrows arched in question. Genis stepped forward, getting ready to explain. He cleared his throat.

"Raine, just Orochi sent for you in Iselia, right? Well, I noticed that Chief Igaguri wasn't there, nor Vice Chief Tiga. Also, Orochi and Sheena never mentioned them or said anything about Kuchinawa."

He waited for the words to sink in.

"Make sense?"

Artemis raised his hand.

"But Genis, how did you figure out that Zelos was a Nemespawn?"

"Well, it got the personality and outer appearance correct, but it said too much. Also, it spoke as if it knew our situation. He did say that he was looking for Lloyd as well, when he should have thought him dead." The silver haired boy elucidated. There was a series of gasps from everyone else in surprise, including the newly arrived Sheena.

"The only way to make certain of that is to go back to New Mizuho." Noishe said, trudging off toward the Iselia village. They were quite near it now. The band all exchanged wary glances before following.

When the seven of them finally reached New Mizuho, all was quiet, and the townsfolk weren't on their merry way. Instead, they, along with "Sheena" and "Orochi," were lined up side by side, like a picket line, just inside the village gate. Sheena's impersonator smirked, drawing its guardian cards. Orochi's clone did the same, although it used traditional ninjutsu weapons such as shruiken or short daggers.

Sheena took her own cards, the Divine Judgment, glaring at her clone. It was just as Genis said. The seven group members proceeded to take up battle stations. Hikaru and Satsuma stayed at the back with Genis and Raine, whilst Noishe, Artemis, and Sheena took up the frontlines. They barely finished forming their battle lines when the townsfolk all shifted their shapes, into varying monsters and the like. The Sheena and Orochi clones stayed as they were. The only difference between the real Sheena and her clone were their outfits. The Nemespawn Sheena had donned the successor outfit, while the real Sheena stayed in her ninja robe. She raised her cards.

"I call upon the red giant, the ruler of hellfire. I summon thee; come, Efreet!"

When the Summon Spirit arrived, it conjured fire in its palms, slamming them down in the middle of the line of Nemespawn. The line scattered. Noishe, Satsuma, and Sheena all charged to begin the fray, while Artemis hung back, raising his cards to summon his one and only Spirit.

"I call upon the fallen angel, the Hero of the Kharlan War! I summon thee; come, Mithos!"

The blond angel appeared before Artemis, facing the countless enemies. A white light enveloped him as he raised his arms.

"Death Lamentation!"

A disc of light spread out beneath the battlefield, reaching a great diameter. Once that was done, the shining core spiraled skywards, impaling the Sheena Nemespawn, twirling blades that hacked and slashed at any nearby enemies. The attack then disappeared, along with Mithos. The only things that were left afterwards were merely a dozen or so falling white feathers.

The other six combatants all twisted their heads around to look at Artemis, the one who had summoned Mithos.

"Wow . . ." Was all Artemis could say.

"Behind you!" Sheena screamed.

They all whirled around just in time to see a couple dozen more ninja spring from the forest all about them, rushing them. Genis growled low beneath his breath.

"It's not over!" The boy shouted, making tossing motions with his kendama.

When he was finished conjuring the spell, he shouted,

"I'll show you real power!"

The ninja converging were caught in a green electrically charged circle of wide diameter. Countless lightning bolts rained upon the inside of the circle. Then, a giant orange sword struck the center, delivering an explosion.

"Indignation . . .Judgment!" Genis shrieked as the attack finished off the Nemespawn ninja. He could tell they were Nemespawn, for when his spell exploded, transparent blue goo flew all over.

The group relaxed when all danger had seemingly passed. As soon as that was done, Raine turned to Sheena.

"Are you really pregnant?"

There was a very tense pause.

Sheena cleared her throat, her facing going red. "Uh . . .why do you ask?" Artemis answered in Raine's stead. "Because that Nemespawn took on your appearance, it had to have taken on your—er—physical status as well." Raine nodded, folding her arms.

Going red in the face, Sheena slowly, but surely, nodded a yes. There were whoops of congratulations. Genis was the most enthusiastic.

"Oh yeah! There's really going to be a bouncing baby Lloyd!" He hopped in the air, showing off his excitement. "Or a bouncing baby Sheena!" Hikaru pointed out, dancing in circles like the ninny she was. Artemis, Raine, Sheena, and Satsuma all released a heavy sigh, rolling their eyes toward the sky. Professor Sage cleared her throat, demanding that all eyes be on her. "Yes, we are all very happy that Sheena really is expecting, however, be that as it may, we must find Colette and Lloyd."

Hikaru and Genis somehow managed to calm down, rejoining the others. "But where to, where to?" The little prodigy inquired.

Raine gave him a look. "That should be obvious. To Dirk's house, at Lloyd and Kratos' 'graveyards'."

Everyone nodded, beginning to file out of the now desolate, fraud "New Mizuho." Behind them, behind the village, in fact, there was a shadow cast on the ground of a tall pine tree, revealing the fact that somebody sat on its lower, stronger branches. The person in the tree smirked. "So they are the targets . . .how did Artemis get here, I wonder?"

Hikaru: Phew! Sorry I delayed so long! I hope this will make up for my lack of updates lately . . .Please read and review!

Lloyd: I hate you . . .you stopped playing ToS and bought a new game . . .

Hikaru: Star Ocean 3, baby! That game kicks ass!

Solo: You dumped Lloyd and fell for Fayt instead . . .

Hikaru: Hell no!

Lloyd: Yay! She didn't dump me!

Hikaru: I love them both!

Lloyd/Fayt/Solo: . . .

Hikaru: Please review!


	16. Guess Who's Back?

Hikaru: Sixteenth chapter of The Innocent! Yay!

Sheena: Hikaru doesn't own ToS; Kratos will sooner attempt walking through a wall.

Lloyd reached his old home before anyone else did; not that he expected anyone else was coming. He darted over the log bridge, slamming the door open. Everything in Dirk's house was as it should've been: the stove was heated, the table was clean, all the houseplants were thriving, and Dirk's blacksmith tools and materials were all in place. Everything was as it should've been—except for the presence of the dwarf.

"Dad?" Lloyd called, walking past a pretty blue vase containing over a dozen dead roses.

When he received no answer, the young man walked upstairs, into his bedroom. The bed was made, and the whole room in general was clean. The only unusual thing about the room was the company of the two Chefs: Wonder and Dark alike. Lloyd blinked twice, holding his door open. The Chefs were holding clipboards, ink pens in hand.

"Uhm . . .what are two doing here?" Lloyd asked.

The Chefs cleared their throats.

"Well, we're debating on who is the likelier god—Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy." Said the Wonder Chef.

"I'm the candidate for the Tooth Fairy." Said the Dark Chef with a hint of contempt at the blonde Wonder Chef.

Lloyd blinked again, utterly confused.

"But why are you in my house?"

The Wonder Chef shrugged. "Every inn and hotel room was booked, the King of Tethe'alla had no room in his servant's quarters, and every house on the market was bought. The only vacant spot left was here." The Dark Chef nodded, apparently agreeing on something with the blonde cook for a change.

Still not satisfied, Lloyd shook his head, entering his room and closing the door quietly. He placed his hands on his hips, moving his swords at the same time. His eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Okay, then why are you debating on the god thing?"

The reply the two Chefs gave dumbfounded the teen hero.

"Because now that the Church of Martel is abolished, this world needs another religion, right?"

The Dark Chef smirked cheekily, adopting a laid back demeanor.

"And the Tooth Fairy is the one for it!"

"Santa Claus could be a god, I mean, he knows what everyone's doing, he rewards the good people, and there are sacrifices! All that milk and cookies, you understand." The Wonder Chef retorted, showing his clipboard listed with reasons why Santa Claus should be the next major god for all the Symphonians to follow. The Dark Chef practically slammed his clipboard in the blonde cook's face, almost shouting, "Well, the Tooth Fairy knows what everyone's doing, and rewards everybody! And they sacrifice their teeth, for the Fairy's sake!"

Lloyd sighed, putting a hand to his forehead. After finding out that everyone thought he was dead while he was actually trapped in the Renegade Base, and coming here to see if somebody had in fact impersonated him, and found the Wonder and Dark Chefs arguing on what new god to conjure up for the world's new religion. While the two culinary masters were still arguing, Lloyd grabbed them both by the scruff of their necks and threw them off the balcony. A loud splash was heard in no less than four seconds afterwards. Sighing again, Lloyd went downstairs and outside. If what Colette said was true, then the answer should lie in the graves that were made for he and Kratos.

It was a beautiful day outside. Clear pale blue sky, mild temperatures, and a soft breeze rolled over the Iselian land. Lloyd didn't feel like enjoying today. He began to get rather weak in the knees when he rounded the small house Dirk built upon seeing what was in the garden.

The garden, now much overgrown, featured not one, not two, but three granite headstones in the flower garden. Breath caught in his throat, Lloyd practically ran to the graves, kneeling down on his knees. Hastily he almost ripped off the young green ivy plants obscuring the lettering on the stones. His blood ran cold.

The headstone he was clinging onto read in fancy raised lettering his full name, birth date, death date, and there was an epitaph engraved at the bottom.

" 'Lloyd Aurion Irving, a boy so courageous, it saved the two worlds from absolute ruin.'" He whispered, claret eyes wide with disbelief.

Lloyd proceeded in tearing up the ivy from what was assumed to be Kratos' grave, for he knew his mother's from the day he was only three years old. For his father's headstone, he found the same things: full name, birth date, death date, and another epitaph.

"Kratos Aurion, a wonderful father who risked his life to protect his son, a vigilant guardian angel, and an invaluable comrade in battle."

Feeling sick, Lloyd leaned against the stone structure, his heart beating against his ribcage ferociously.

"We really thought you'd died, Lloyd."

Startled, the swordsman sharply glanced over his shoulder. Colette stood opposite him at the edge of the flower garden, glimmering wings disappearing in a flurry of translucent feathers. Her deep blue eyes were dark with remorse. Lloyd couldn't speak. He wanted to, but the shock of seeing his own grave firsthand rather disturbed him. Instead, he averted his gaze from Colette to the dark red flowers curling about the base of the tombstone. They were very pretty, with thin, delicate light green stems, tiny soft leaves, and the elegant petals looked almost silky in the sunlight.

"Lloyd!"

Once again startled, Lloyd swiftly looked in the general direction of the speaker, his heartbeat taking on a new pace. His breath held when Sheena, along with the rest of the motley crew came running forth from the woods. The successor of Mizuho was in the lead, while Artemis brought up the rear. Sheena sprinted right past Colette, nearly tackling her boyfriend in an enthusiastic bear hug. About everybody cooed over the sight. Colette's heart wrenched.

Lloyd hugged Sheena back, biting down a whimper. After giving the newly reunited couple some time, Raine stepped forward, along with Genis. The Professor knelt down, whispering something to Lloyd. A few moments passed before he slowly nodded, getting up on his feet, Sheena following suit. They stepped out of the way, so that Raine had access to all three of the headstones. The half-elven woman took a fairly sized shovel that had been lying on the side of Dirk's house, standing up. Sticking the tool into the earth, she dug out two of the three graves. As this was done, Lloyd watched, transfixed with horror.

Raine had reached Lloyd's coffin first. With Genis and Noishe's help, she hauled it out of the hole in the ground, working to detach the lid from the rest of the construction. Lloyd didn't want to look, expecting to see his own dead body, but there was nothing in the coffin. At least, nothing he saw right away. Everyone let out a low awe of understanding and shock. Raine bent down, picking up delicately a small violet crystal the size of Genis' fist. It was glowing dimly. Artemis craned his neck to look at it over Raine's shoulder.

"Professor. Isn't that a Nemespawn heart?"

"Yes it is, Artemis."

Raine made eye contact with Lloyd. Nothing else was said for a set time before Genis suggested that they check Kratos' coffin next. In the Seraphim's coffin they discovered the same thing: a Nemespawn heart. Raine held the two mechanical contraptions in both her hands, their resonating glows growing slightly brighter.

"If these Nemespawn were impersonating Kratos and Lloyd, then why didn't they try to kill us?" Genis asked, thin silver brow arched.

The young half-elf's query was answered when another voice emerged from beyond the garden, from behind one of the large pine trees. It sounded awfully familiar.

"That's because those Nemespawn received not only Kratos and Lloyd's DNA, but their memories and abilities as well. They were so in tune with the program that the Renegades set into them that they actually thought they were Kratos and Lloyd. Get me?"

Raine's jaw dropped. Colette gasped. Genis keeled over.

"What? What's wrong?" Noishe asked, fanning Genis' face with his vest.

The person that had spoken previously revealed himself to the masses. He stepped out of the shelter provided by the shadows of the pine trees. His dark cerulean eyes studied the people before him in a serious manner, while said people (at least some) were experiencing some rather intense shock.

"You're . . .Raphael?" Raine choked, clutching the crystals in her hands tightly.

The young man came into the garden, standing by Lloyd's gravestone. He pushed a gloved hand through his short red hair, the sunlight reflecting off his black zipped trench coat. Artemis leaned toward the Professor.

"Isn't he the one who tried to kill all the angels?" he urgently whispered.

"Yes he is, Artemis."

Hikaru: Sorry to cut this short, but my little sister wants to use the computer. Please Review!


	17. Nemespawn Caught!

Hikaru: Seventeenth chapter, baby! This is the farthest I've gotten in any one story so far!

Raphael: Oh, and the reason that Hikaru takes so long to update is that she's been reading the Fullmetal Alchemist manga online.

Hikaru: Poor Hughes . . .stupid Envy killed him:sob:

Raphael: But you always said he was annoying!

Artemis: On another random note, Envy wears a skirt. A short skirt, at that.

Albel: So I'm not the only one.

Hikaru:slaps her forehead:

Wonder Chef: As a faithful messenger of the new god Santa Claus, it is my sole duty to state to the masses that Hikaru doesn't own anything but her original characters and storyline.

Dark Chef: We haven't finished debating yet!

Everyone expected Raphael to do something. Instead, he merely stood there, eyebrow arched, almost as if he were curious or confused. He gestured to Raine.

"Uh . . .who are you people?"

A very awkward silence stretched between the oversized group of people and the lone homicidal maniac.

"What the hell do you mean, 'who are we'? You tried to kill us a few months ago!" Raine shouted, angrier than scared. Raphael backed away nervously, and then a thumping noise was heard as he tripped backward over something in the shadows of the trees.

"Ow!" he sat upright, trying to get his bearings.

Artemis strode forward, grabbing hold of the thing Raphael tripped on, dragging it back into the sunlight. Everyone huddled around it, wanting to get a clear look at the object. Those who have been to the Tower of Salvation all held their breaths, amazed. Raine, the most enthusiastic of the party, began her usual rants at once.

"It's a coffin from the Tower of Salvation." Lloyd said for everyone else's benefit, for the Professor currently wasn't speaking coherently due to her Ruin Mode. Now awake, Genis jerked upright, yelling, "No way!" His older friend nodded, kneeling down to look better at the coffin. It was unmistakable. It was constructed of a gem like material that looked blue but shone green in the daylight, framed with a black metal decorated with silver edges. The coffin was open, so all could see inside of it. Genis gave Raphael a strange look.

"You were a Chosen?"

The young man got to his feet, his face set in a blank expression. He cocked his head to one side.

"What's a Chosen?"

Noishe slipped his vest back on, tugging on Raine's orange jacket. She quit ranting, regarding Noishe with a questioning look. The Protozoan stood, asking,

"Is he another Nemespawn?"

Intrigued, Raine grabbed Raphael's arm, dragging him next to the coffin he emerged from. She placed her head against his chest.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"If he is a shape shifter, he should have a crystal like this one instead of a real heart." Professor Sage explained, holding one of the ones she had in the sunlight for all to see. "Not a Nemespawn. There's definitely a heartbeat." Raine concluded, straightening up. She released Raphael.

"Then why doesn't he remember us if he's real?" Genis asked, inching away from the redhead.

His older sister pointed to the contents of the coffin. "Feast your eyes on this." She bent over to take what she pointed out in her hands to show it to the rest of the band. What Raine held looked like a kind of headset. The four half-elves in the group could tell it was powered by a strong form of magitechnology. "His memory's been erased." Raine said, turning over the headset in her hands, studying it.

"I see. That's how I came to be Raphael."

The nine of them all turned to Raphael, who still stood where he was, looking like he still hadn't the slightest clue what Raine was talking about. Genis donned a suspicious air.

"What are you talking about?"

"I didn't say anything." Raphael replied, still confused about what was going on. Hikaru placed her hands on the ground, magical energy condensing about her. Giant tree roots ripped from the earth beyond the garden, coiling around someone hiding in the trees ahead of them. A strangled scream was heard. It sounded exactly like Raphael, but he was still as he was before.

Hikaru and Satsuma rushed into the forest patch ahead of the overgrown flower garden. Their comrades followed shortly afterwards, dragging poor Raphael along with them. In the forest, Hikaru had captured a young man in her magic that looked just like Raphael. "Sweet mother of Martel." Genis stared back and forth between the two teens. They were even dressed the same.

Raine grinned, an idea popping into her head. She shoved the headset she was holding into Noishe's hands, fishing in her pocket for something. She pulled out the sphere that Artemis had showed her, grabbing a wire from the headset and hooking up the two magitechnology machines. "Put the headset on Raphael. The one in the tree roots." She commanded.

As Noishe did as he was instructed, Raine explained. "Since the real Raphael's memories were erased, we should be able to erase what's recorded on the sphere. We can record that Raphael's memories from the time he was created. Yes, I think he's the shape shifter. Ready, Noishe?" The Protozoan nodded, switching the headset on, despite the shape shifter's protests. Climbing up the roots, Genis focused his magic into the headset, mentally willing it to erase whatever was on the miniature spherical projector. After that was done, he focused his mental power on the Nemespawn's memories. The headset bleeped, beginning to record.

Everyone waited in anticipation.

Hikaru: Yeah, it's short again, but I'm tired today . . .so yeah. Please review!


	18. The Scarred Man

Hikaru: DAMN WRITER'S BLOCK!

Martel: Hikaru doesn't own Tales of Symphonia or any other games/anime mentioned in here.

Everyone stared at the miniature projector, curious. The fake Raphael struggled in his bonds until Satsuma, who got rather annoyed, bopped him over the head with the butt of one of her guns. He went limp, unconscious. The holographics on the spherical projector flickered a moment before returning to normal. Everyone held his or her breath.

What was shown wasn't too impressive. Unless you count the fact that it was showing a familiar lab—the lab that was found in the Sylvarant base. It was a complete mess, much like how it was found, but it wasn't devoid of people. Many ex-Renegade members were scattered about the lab, studying the results of all their biological testing. Every scientist studied at their feet something that resembled a blob of flesh, but with gelatin characteristics.

That's when the images began to flicker faintly, until the entire projection was eradicated. Genis furrowed his brow, teeth clenched together. He knew what happened, as did the other half-elves.

"He's blocking the magic!"

"Forget it! We don't need _this!" _Raine announced, tearing off the headset and discarding the sphere. Genis nodded, folding his arms.

"We all know now we were tricked from the very beginning . . ."

Hikaru donned a pensive expression, absently examining the earth beneath her feet. She turned toward Lloyd, her mouth a determinedly thin line. She sounded frustrated when she spoke.

"I don't get it. All we know about Nemesis now is that it is the strongest shape shifter, and it's out to get you guys! You saw how many of its sub-divided selves there were in the fake Mizuho village. Just think of how many there could be worldwide!"

The savior of Symphonia dropped his gaze to his feet, not knowing what to do. Sheena squeezed her lover's hand in a sort of attempt at reassurance. There was a heavy silence filling the air, the gentle winds rustling the trees of the Iselia Forest. Colette leaned against the tree trunk Hikaru generated to hold the fake Raphael, clearing her throat timidly.

"Uh, Lloyd? Kratos isn't dead and that was proven right? So I was thinking: where could the real Kratos have gone? He wasn't at Derris-Kharlan when we went there recently."

Raine audibly gasped, her hands flying to cover her mouth.

"By Martel . . .that's right! It wasn't Kratos on Derris-Kharlan!"

At this, Lloyd suddenly realized something else, and looked up at his teacher sharply.

"Professor Sage . . .! I noticed . . .it's been a while since we all came here, and my dad's not here! He's gone! Normally, he'd be attending the garden or working on the furnace."

"Dirk's missing, too?" Genis groaned, almost ripping out chunks of his silver hair. Noishe gnawed at his lower lip, fists clenched at his side. He'd noticed that Dirk was gone before even arriving here at his house . . .despite having evolved into a higher form of human, the Protozoan still retained the excellent senses of hearing and smell he obtained when he was a dog-like creature. He sighed resignedly, looking aft over to the vegetable garden Dirk kept near his old holding pen.

"The vegetable garden's wilting," He said randomly.

Both Artemis and Genis averted their gazes over to where Noishe was looking, between the many trees. The Protozoan was right: the plants of the garden were wilting. Genis began thinking of how mana affected the life of the land and plants, and how the whole planet would cease to live without mana. Something clicked in his memory, and he gasped with sudden realization. He began hopping up and down on one foot, waving his arms to get everyone's attention.

"Guys! Guys! Haven't you all noticed how the plants and whatnot aren't looking too healthy? Not only here, but other places as well!"

The half-elf half of the group all racked their brains, recalling how the mana levels in the land and plants seemed to have dropped a little over the months. Satsuma shook her head, hitting the fake Raphael over the head again once his eyes fluttered open.

"Has Sylvarant begun to decline again?"

The real Raphael shook his head this time, looking a bit uncertain; nevertheless he knew what he was going to say. He cleared his throat, wincing a little when he was met with irritated and angry glances.

"That can't be possible. Cruxis was destroyed, and from the feel of the mana, Tethe'alla and Sylvarant were reunited. Something somewhere must be draining the mana of this world little by little . . ."

By that statement, Genis remembered something else. He remembered cooking dinner in Altessa's house, when everyone else was seeing if "Lloyd" were all right, a certain red-haired Chosen was standing outside . . .Genis' cerulean eyes widened in shock.

"He was saying something had to be harvested at the night of the new moon . . .and that the technique was lost a long time ago . . ."

"Genis?" Sheena tilted her head to one side, brows arched in question. The silver-haired half-elf jumped up again, yelling, "People!" to gain everyone's undivided attention. They all gave him odd expressions, Raine particularly. Once he calmed down, Genis folded his arms, clearing his throat.

"We all have to go see Zelos! Right now!"

Artemis snorted disgustedly, folding his arms behind his head, leaning on the tree near Colette, a smirk placed upon his lips.

"And just why would we need to go pay a visit to that gawd-awful lusty womanizer?" A heavy, awkward silence followed that question.

"Artemis? You've met Zelos before?' Lloyd asked slowly, everyone else nodding in agreement. Artemis gasped, covering his mouth with one hand, like he said something he shouldn't have. He hastily sputtered out something akin to a "no," quickly saying he'd just heard the rumors about Zelos in Meltokio. Raine awed to herself, going deep in thought. Noishe, sensing the tension in the air, quickly clapped his hands, saying,

"Now, now, let's just go to Meltokio and see what we can find!"

The party began to file out of the woods, when another voice behind the giant tree Hikaru made stopped them dead in their tracks. Lloyd whirled around, Sheena following his suit.

"So, this is what's become of the Raphael I had after you. Looks like he failed to finish the job I assigned him." The voice was strictly businesslike and curt, and reminded Lloyd forcefully of Yggdrasill. However, when the speaker rounded the tree the fake Raphael was stuck in, looking him over, Lloyd was surprised to find that it wasn't anyone he recognized.

"Who are you?" The brunette spat, causing the remaining party to about face was well. The speaker, a tall young looking dark skinning man crowned with silver hair regarded Lloyd as if he were something insignificant. The eyes hidden behind dark lens spectacles darted over to the real Raphael, who was now standing with shaky limbs. He smirked at the sight.

"Compared to what I've seen this Nemespawn do to them," the dark skinned man gestured to Lloyd, "it's really ludicrous to see the real thing act like this, but on that note," he turned to the shape shifter in the tree.

"What the hell were you _doing_? It's obvious you're a sub-division; you couldn't even tell that your 'targets' were just more sub-divisions, not the real thing! Of course _those three _were failures as well, to be so integrated with the memories of the individuals they stole the shape and identities of to think they were really _them . . ._pathetic," He shook his head disgustedly, tracing his right hand over the large "X" shaped scar on his forehead. The man adjusted his yellow jacket, turning another glance to the others in the immediate vicinity.

Lloyd gulped nervously; those eyes were creepy although their color was obscured. What this man was saying barely registered in his brain, something about sub-divisions and identity theft. He felt his girlfriend tightly grip his hand and wrist, moving closer as if the unknown man also scared her. Lloyd suddenly felt really afraid. It took a lot to really shake up Sheena.

"Who are you?" Colette repeated Lloyd's previous query, inching a bit toward the stranger. Lloyd grimaced. Not a good idea. Noishe leapt to the blonde angel's rescue, drawing his sword.

"Answer her!" He snarled, a bit of his wolfish side taking over his rational. The scarred man almost snorted, squaring his broad shoulders. From the corner of his eye, Lloyd saw the Sage siblings back away slowly; it looked as though they were trying to sneak in a spell or so if the situation turned threatening.

"He has no name," the Nemespawn trapped still in Hikaru's tree roots supplied for the man, saying so with evident antipathy, dark blue eyes that did not belong to him narrowing dangerously. The dark-skinned man turned to look at him.

"At least I did not steal anyone else's name." He put his right hand on the tree trunk, a frown pulling at the corners of his lips. Lloyd blinked.

"The wraiths will be extremely displeased, being the first seven sub-divisions thus the most superior of all our brothers and sisters. You are lucky, not being alive anymore to endure their fury. Farewell."

There was a flash of red light seeping through the scarred man's yellow sleeve, dancing up the tree trunk and the trapped Nemespawn. Before Lloyd could do so much as even blink, a violent show of red obscured his vision, briefly he fretted he saw the crimson of blood, yet when it died down there was no blood. Just a mess of what used to be upturned giant tree roots and light blue gelatin material splattered everywhere. He looked left right and center, but the fact remained: the scarred man was gone.

"What the hell . . .was that?"

Satsuma walked forward, anxiously clenching the hilt of one gun, index finger resting above, but not on, the trigger. She didn't stop striding in the mess of blue stuff, kneeling down to pluck out something that shone black in the scant amounts of light bleeding through the forest canopy. She looked over to Raine, holding her find up to the light. It was "Raphael's" artificial intelligence program.

Mouth stretched in a thin line, the silver-haired teacher quickly half-jogged to Satsuma, nearly pawing the program off her. She inspected it closely, turning it over in her palms, feeling the textures of the obsidian crystal, searching for the seam that hid the core of the program. The professor sighed dejectedly, and Lloyd guessed she didn't find what she wanted. She then groaned, thrusting the crystal to the nearest person, which happened to be Lloyd.

"Look," Raine said, "doesn't it look more like an Exsphere than a Nemespawn program?" Nodding numbly, Lloyd took the crystal in his hand, moving his head so as to give Sheena a better observation standpoint. The crystal was large, about the size of Artemis' fist, nearly perfectly spherical, and it shone in an almost forlorn manner. Lloyd knew that shine all to well; in fact he wore that shine on his left hand every day.

Noishe growled, sheathing his sword with a dejected scowl where the scarred man had stood barely moments ago. Artemis cleared his throat, gaining the rest of the party's attention.

"Could we go on to Meltokio now?"

"Yes, we should do that! This is becoming more and more dangerous by the millisecond!" Raine snatched back the Exsphere reminiscent object from her student, hastily shoving it in her jacket pocket prior to sprinting toward the end of the forest, past the river where the path to the mountain began on the way to Forcystus' desolate human ranch.

Everyone else obediently began to follow, Lloyd stopped in his tracks when there as an _ahem _behind him. He ushered Sheena to go on without him, about-facing to find the real, innocent Raphael staring at the soil beneath his feet, hands shoved in his coat pockets. His deep ocean colored irises clouded with remorse and strangely it looked somewhat _familiar _to Lloyd, although this was the first time he'd actually met Raphael, despite what his clone had done to Lloyd's.

"What is it?" The brunette asked, hands on his hips with a brow arched over a claret eye. Raphael evasively shifted a bit, hands clenching in the deep pockets. He gently bit down on his lower lip, knitting his brow in an evident show of trepidation accompanied by reluctance.

"I know this might be awkward, me asking this, but can you take me with you?"

Lloyd blinked a few times.

Raphael spoke again, his voice laced with apologetic emotion.

"I mean I have nowhere to go and I don't even remember where I was supposed to be living up until now . . .I was locked up in that . . .coffin . . .so uhm, could you?"

Lloyd Irving mentally debated whether or not he should. He remembered all the people in his life that pitied him, took him under his or her wing, and what did he have to show for it?

_Well, I helped save the planet from death by mana deprivation . . ._ his mind offered.

The spiky-haired brunette shook his head that alone wasn't good enough to repay all that kindness he'd received all his life. He remembered what it felt like to be left behind in the wake of the Chosen's group, told he wasn't fit to be on a journey like that, he remembered what it was like to almost grovel at your savior's feet before he was acknowledged with even a _humph, _Lloyd did the first thing that came to mind.

"Of course you can come with us,"

Raphael positively beamed. Lloyd grinned, beckoning his newest companion over by his side. Sure, the people that saw Raphael's clone attempt to brutally murder Lloyd and Kratos' clones might not be as quick to trust the younger redhead, yet hadn't they had the same doubts about letting Regal, Presea, and even Kratos rejoining them at one point or another?

Hikaru: Blah, crappy chapter, shall come up with more soon. By the by, I'm crossing over certain anime and games in with this, whoever can spot them gets points from me! Please leave a R-E-V-I-E-W for me!


	19. Bringing Zelos Up to Date

Hikaru: I love you all! Those who recognized Scar from Fullmetal Alchemist last chapter get ten points!

Lloyd: What are you going to give to all those who recognized Scar?

Hikaru: I don't know.

Lloyd: . . .

Hikaru: Anyway! I apologize to all my readers who are confused or think there are too many plot twists. But I think predictable stories are overrated. Besides, this is the only good way I can think of that'll make this story work. To those who are confused, just send me an e-mail stating what it is you're confused about, and I'll fill you in.

Seles: Hikaru Irving doesn't own Tales of Symphonia or any other anime/games mentioned here.

The imperial city of Meltokio seemed to almost gleam in the morning sunlight, the fiery red star just barely creeping over the eastern horizon. In a large house that took up almost half the living space of the whole noblemen neighborhood, a young redheaded man snuggled in his bed, hugging a feather-filled pillow, slightly drooling on the pillowcase while he dreamt. Unfortunately for him, the sun decided to awake him earlier than he would've liked, the beams of light flooding the large bed. The young man stirred, knitting his brow in discomfort. Yawning audibly he sat upright, consciousness just beginning to manifest in the previously snoring machine. His azure eyes darted over to the small clock hung on the wall on the opposite side of the bedroom; he groaned when the clock hands read merely 7:55 A.M.

Deciding it would be better to just get up instead of waiting to be ambushed by his sometimes annoying butler, Zelos leapt out of bed, raiding his closet for his usual attire. He was just buttoning up the last pin on his overcoat when a loud knock resonated against the shut bedroom door. The Chosen groaned again, almost running to the door, practically yanking the wood off its abused hinges. Not unlike he thought, Zelos was met with his butler, Sebastian, who stood before him with a straight back, the perfect image of what a proper butler should appear as. Zelos scowled at him.

"What is it? I've only finished getting dressed; I haven't even eaten breakfast yet."

Sebastian bowed rather stiffly, seemingly irritated by his master's attitude so early in the day.

"Excuse me, master Zelos, but there are a few old friends awaiting you in the living room downstairs."

"Oh really? I wonder why . . .they holding a late funeral reception for Lloyd or something?" Zelos grinned crookedly at his bad joke, dodging past Sebastian and taking the carpeted stairs three at a time.

Upon reaching the foot of the stairs, Zelos stopped, cerulean eyes darting back and forth to all his visitors. Raine stood near the fireplace; Genis was busily observing the white flowers in the vase near the grate; an odd green-haired fellow who Zelos didn't know admired the oil portrait of Mylene Wilder, a young black-haired boy was organizing a deck of spell cards on the coffee table, and—

"_What the hell are you doing here?" _

Tables were turned over, potted plants were knocked down and uprooted, vases smashed on the tiled entryway, and tapestries were ripped from their perches—all in the name of Zelos Wilder making an attempt on a Mr. Leonazium's life. The whole time poor Raphael dodged all of Zelos' magic and melee attacks, the sword barely grazing his flesh and the magic devastating the household.

"Enough screwing around! _Judgment!"_

Everybody ducked for cover; bright orange angel feathers scattered all over the place while the manifold light rays vaporized everything it hit. Fortunately Raphael was part elf, so he was skilled in the magic arts, thus he could employ the use of a force field. By the time the angelic light subsided, the pale green dome collapsed on Raphael, diminishing into nothing more than emerald hued blotches of light. The black-coated young man sat back leaning against one of many ravaged walls, dark blue eyes wide and panting hard.

"It seems as if we owe Zelos an explanation . . ." Genis' voice resounded from behind the overturned, ruined sofa.

At these words, Tethe'alla's former Chosen of Mana halted all action, hovering over the traumatized Raphael. A thin red brow arched high over a deep azure orb. The younger Sage sibling scrambled over the couch, pulling up Artemis with him, who was too dizzy to see straight. The professor came out from her hiding place in the unlit fireplace, and Noishe emerged from the kitchen, holding an apple in one hand.

"I see. Wow, that's a mind-numbing tale . . ." Zelos put down his mug of hot chocolate on the newly repaired coffee table, studying his audience carefully. He sighed before speaking again.

"So Lloyd and Kratos are still alive? That's good to hear."

Raine nodded in agreement, taking a swift sip of her coffee.

"Yes. Lloyd is with Sheena and Colette in the city; they're stocking up our supplies. We don't have the slightest idea where Kratos may be."

"And from the looks of things, Dirk's missing as well." Genis folded his hands over his crossed legs, burning a hole in the damaged-beyond-repair-already carpet with his eyes alone. Artemis shrugged, waving a few cards as a makeshift fan.

"Altessa should be at his place, so we know that the dwarves who worked for Cruxis haven't abducted him or anything. The plants of Sylvarant are all looking ill, for some offbeat oddity."

Zelos groaned, kneading his forehead with his knuckles; it'd only been at least over half a year since he helped save the planet, now he'd have to worry about the well being of the planet again? Oh, well, being a former Chosen had its ups and downs. He shot a glance at the silent Raphael.

"And you were locked up in one of those coffins that Yggdrasill kept the failed Chosen in—what does that mean?"

"Zelos, you baka. It means that the Renegades kidnapped Raphael and cloned him using one of the sub-divisions of their Nemesis shape shifter!" Artemis grinned at Zelos' murderous glare; despite the redhead being an outsider to Mizuho, he knew what the word "baka" meant due to Sheena calling him that almost daily when they traveled together. Raine cleared her throat, and everyone—including Raphael—immediately averted his gaze to the Professor.

"I have a theory. I've studied the Nemespawn hearts for quite some time now, and I've noticed that their molecular structure isn't that much different that that of an Exsphere or Cruxis Crystal."

"But Exspheres and Cruxis Crystals don't have computer programs built into them." Genis said pointedly, gesturing to his Exsphere for emphasis. His anue shook her head, folding her arms.

"No, they don't. But what I'm saying is that they way these Nemespawn programs are manufactured may be similar to how Exspheres and Cruxis Crystals are made. Computer programs used on a life form would result in a being resembling Tabatha, correct?"

"Oh, I see. So you're saying is that the Nemespawn hearts are actually one or more Exspheres or Cruxis Crystals assimilated with computer programs so that their life forms would actually be close to a real living thing?"

Genis smirked at Tethe'alla's Chosen.

"Wow, Zelos, I'm surprised you figured that out."

"Shatto ue!"

Noishe bit down on his apple, his dog-ears twitching a bit at Zelos' horrible Mizuhon pronunciation. The brown-clad Protozoan swallowed his bit of fruit, waving his free hand in the air to gain the attention of his peers.

"Hey, but don't you remember what that scarred Nemespawn said? 'The wraiths will be displeased.' What are 'wraiths'?"

Professor Sage gently bit her lower lip; she'd wondered about that herself.

"The dictionary definition of a wraith is a vision of a person still alive, said to appear as a premonition of that person's death, or a ghost of a dead person. So what does that mean?"

"That the Renegades brought seven dangerous people back to life? That's what it sounded like." Raphael spoke for the first time, avoiding eye contact with anyone. Zelos pounded his fist on the table.

"Hey, if that Nemespawn that stole Lloyd's shape was the 'Lloyd' whom we thought was ill, how was that caused? Remember the Exsphere shards in his body?"

"Yes . . .I presume that those shards were the shards of its AI program that got mutilated during a Renegade experiment."

Silence ruled the half-demolished household for a time, before Zelos abruptly stood, clearing his throat.

"Why don't we continue this discussion later? I'll bet you all could use some rest; feel free to take up the guest rooms."

The Chosen watched each of his guests ascend the stairwell, his eyes resting most intently on Raphael's retreating back. Zelos bit his lower lip hard.

"I'd never thought I'd have to see you again . . .brother . . ." he whispered to the still morning air.

Hikaru: One page shorter than I planned, but there it is! So how'd you all like it? I hope this answers a few questions some of you may have about some events in The Guilty. By the by, there have been lots of complaints like, "I'm confused," or "There are too many plot twists." **_If I get ONE more review saying either of those things, I am DISCONTINUING THIS STORY. Got it? Good. PLEASE REVIEW!_**


	20. Brothers

Hikaru: Dear Martel, this is pathetic. I'm writing this on my little sister's computer profile. Sigh . . .

Raphael: Yay! I'm not a villain any more!

Hikaru: Sorry for not updating lately. Do not own anything but the storyline and original characters!

The clinks of glasses against tables and of forks, knives, and spoons against plates and bowls filled the classy restaurant. Given the quality of the place, the only customers who could afford it were of the noble class, or at least the wealthiest middle class (although by the nobles, wealthy middle classed people were viewed as poor). The only nobles who treated this restaurant as a local diner were the richest ones of the Wilder family, Tethe'alla's Chosen bloodline.

"Zelos, quit taking Raphael's food! Raphael, stop whining!"

The mother, Mylene Wilder, was in anything but a good mood. Her husband was being an asshole again, ditching the family for beer and whores. Humph. Not that she cared. She only married that pompous jerk because the angels ordained it so.

'My oracle . . . Raphael, the angel of Healing.'

Her second son was named after her oracle. Because children could be described as the "healers" of the human population (family, at least), Mylene chose that name.

The three of them left the restaurant after eating, walking down the road of nighttime Meltokio to their glamorous house, both children holding their mother's hands. As the house drew nearer, Mylene began a song.

"There are countless stars in the sky,"

"Shining in the sky," her sons echoed.

"But each one is precious, very, very precious."

"Very, very precious."

"Just like friends and family,"

"Friends and family,"

"Just like you,"

"Just like you,"

The family song ended as they entered the house, the two boys laughing gleefully and hugging their mother as she laughed along with them.

OoOoO

A twenty-four-year-old Zelos Wilder sighed, batting an ice cube between his hands on the kitchen counter after his guests had retired. Deep blue eyes narrowing, he grimaced; the ice cube slid right off the marble counter.

"Dammit," Zelos cursed quietly. "Why am I suddenly remembering that now?"

That song, that damn song. As a child, he'd wholeheartedly loved his mother, but when she died that one snowy night . . . no more!

Zelos heard the kitchen door open, someone's footfalls on the green tiled floor. A feeling of intense dread welled up inside him, he just knew . . .

"Brother?" the voice was timid, soft.

"Sorry, Raphael," Zelos gazed at the counter, refusing to look at his blood relation.

"It's still hard for me to look at you and not think you almost killed my friends."

The ex-Chosen expected a long silence.

But he didn't expect the unexpected.

"Is that supposed to be an insult, Zelos!"

Stunned, Zelos glanced at Raphael; the other's voice was breaking, he was on the verge of tears.

Almost yelling, Zelos spat back,

"Then why don't you tell me what happened to you after Mom died?"

Instead of remaining standing, Raphael plopped down onto a barstool, still scowling at his sibling.

"Like Seles, I was taken to an abbey. After a year or so, a lady named Angeline Leonazium came to the abbey and persuaded the priests to let her adopt me. She took me to a village called Andire, which got destroyed by the Cruxis—"

"For what?" Zelos interrupted, arching an eyebrow.

There was a horrible silence, all anger in the still night air died at the precise moment. Raphael's reply began as a loud croak before he pulled himself together.

"My foster mother, Angeline . . . she took me with her to the Tower of Salvation to see the Archangel Raphael, the Angel of Healing. The angels . . . were conducting Hi-Exsphere research, and a little human girl was the compatibility test subject for a new type of Exsphere."

Again, the terrifying silence.

"So . . . did the girl live?" Zelos pondered aloud.

Raphael shook his head, no.

"In the lab, Angeline and Raphael Sr. were talking. The girl was being tested in a large cylindrical tank filled with biochemicals, and she wore an oxygen mask. At first, the experiment was going well, but . . .she wasn't fully compatible. The Exsphere was going out of control. She was turning into a monster.

"So I did the only thing I could do at the time. I rushed up, broke the tank, caught her half-human mutilated form, and I tried to heal her. Cruxis viewed this as treason, of course. Killed Angeline, destroyed Andire, replacing it with a House of Guidance, and I replaced the girl as a test subject."

"And in the long run, locked you up in that coffin . . ." Zelos finished. His brother nodded.

"When your friends found me, I had amnesia. They asked me if I were a Chosen. I didn't remember at the time."

The older one studied the pensive nineteen-year-old carefully. Raphael was a good kid. There was no way he'd ever intentionally lie to his big brother, right? A sudden thought occurred to Zelos.

"So, Raphael . . .how do you feel about the angels?"

Raphael was taken aback, nevertheless he did answer, even though it was somewhat hesitant.

"I was only, what, ten or eleven when I tried to save the girl. I did hate the angels at first, but—hey, what's wrong, Zelos?"

Raphael cut off upon seeing the look on Zelos' face; he appeared absolutely stunned, or even mortified. Snapping out of his trance, Zelos shook his head.

"No, go on."

He couldn't afford to jump to conclusions yet. Let Raphael finish his story. Said individual cleared his throat.

"Anyway, after my scandal, the angels kept me for a test subject. At first I hated the angels more than anything, but steadily, over the five plus years I 'lived' with them, I came to understand about most of Cruxis' angels being soulless. Only a select few retained their souls. It wasn't their fault for doing what they did. Not like that stopped me.

"I tried to escape one night. From that archangel with my name, I picked up a few things about the technology, because he's the one who took care of me all those years. I broke out of my cell, snuck about the Tower, and I thought I'd get out, but I ended up getting caught at the seal room, where the Eternal Sword used to rest. It was then they locked me into that coffin."

The spacious kitchen was severely silent, as if the true holy goddess herself had descended into their midst.

"So that's why," Zelos whispered at last.

"Huh?" Raphael arched an eyebrow.

"Before we found you, your Nemespawn counterpart took to killing angels because he justified it by saying, 'angels are murderers, they care for nothing but themselves'."

Seeing that Raphael was still somewhat at a loss, Zelos decided to elaborate a bit more, clearing his throat.

"Nemespawns shape-shift by taking your genetic information, and in a few cases, their AI programs are downloaded with the individual's memories. That's what happened to you and your Nemespawn counterpart."

An awkward sort of silence followed the ex-chosen's explanation. Yawning after a time, Zelos rose from his chair, stretching his arms. Raphael didn't move, pondering all the information he'd been fed.

"Well, it's late. I'm going to bed."

And Zelos was gone.

It was a very long time before Raphael even moved.

Hikaru: Sorry it's so short, but it's almost 11 o'clock at night, I'm tired.

Solo: Hikaru, isn't today special . . .?

Hikaru: Oh yeah! TODAY'S MY BIRTHDAY! I'M FIFTEEN! YAY!

Solo: Please review.


	21. Light of the Angel

Hikaru: Always Aosta!

Zelos: . . .?

Hikaru: Ahem. Sorry, I just thought Sapientia's complaining about her lord father, the regnant of Wendar and Varre leading an expedition south to the kingdom of Aosta to claim an imperial crown was just funny. Anyway, the twenty-first chapter of The Innocent. Enjoy!

Zelos: You're reading too much . . .

Hikaru: Not enough!

Mana.

It was an intangible thing, cannot be seen, cannot be felt.

Yet without it, the planet would die, magic would cease to exist. The entirety of this planet and more depended on mana. Even humans, who could not wield magic, die if their bodies are deprived of this ever-important substance.

Mana is everywhere, is everything, is anything, and is sensed by all life, sentient and no.

Noishe, whose species originated from the purest pool of mana found on early Sylvarant-Tethe'alla, felt the drastic effects of mana deprivation even more acutely than the mana-satiated elves. Now the low levels of mana affected him more than he let on.

Much had happened in the span of a few days. Even in Tethe'alla, where the mana had been thickest since the decline of Sylvarant under the reign of Cruxis, the utter, complete lack of mana taxed Noishe to the point where he could not even focus on objects more than five feet away from him. He spent all of two days resting in his room in Zelos' mansion, getting up only to bathe, eat, and use the restroom. Usually satiated in mana, Noishe was surprised he survived the dried-up husk of Sylvarant before the worlds were reunited. His new humanoid body was not used to the lack of mana.

Raphael and the Sages had been on to something when they observed the withering vegetation in Iselia, and the lowered mana levels. The so-called 'wraiths' Raine had spoke of, they were not seven dangerous people brought back to life, like Raphael had thought. Wraiths were the visions of one's death while they were still alive. Noishe had a hunch that the seven Nemespawn birthed first to the original retained most of Nemesis' special abilities; that was Nemesis' only weakness. While it could sub-divide, its sub-divisions retained some of its abilities, but as those divided, the less abilities were inherited. Eventually, the bloodline, so to speak, would thin, and come to an end, unless Nemesis survived and managed to reproduce itself sexually to pass on its genes more efficiently.

The first seven sub-divisions were the strongest of all the asexual offspring of Nemesis. Wraiths were visions of a living person's death. Like Nemesis, the seven wraiths had no definite form, but worthy warriors challenging Nemesis would have to go through the wraiths first.

The vision of that person's death.

Artemis awoke, yawning quite audibly. He'd slept the best sleep he'd had in a long while, and who wouldn't expect that? Zelos was the former Tethe'allan Chosen of Mana, whose bloodline was second only to the noble regnant of Tethe'alla. He could afford the best money could buy and more.

Artemis padded over the gigantic dresser, obviously the product of some slavering, well-renowned carpenter. He retrieved his recently laundered outfit, courtesy of Sebastian. Making sure his bedroom door was securely locked and the light pink silk curtains draped over the window, Artemis changed his clothes, checking the pockets of his vest for the deck of spell and guardian cards his mother had gifted him with before he started this journey. His silver pendant he always wore, the old tarnished jewelry hanging from his neck on an equally worn silver chain. This was the most important reminder of his journey's goal.

He sighed, slipped on his vest, and exited the guestroom. The upstairs hallway was quite empty. Artemis shrugged, padded downstairs to feed his own self. He wasn't about to let the butler do everything for him; he could take care of himself. Opening the kitchen door, Artemis yelped when he bumped right into a green-haired, fluffy-eared, brown-clad Protozoan.

"Noishe? You're up early. It's not more than seven o'clock."

Artemis stepped back to allow breathing room for Noishe and himself. Noishe stretched, yawning, and Artemis swore he could hear a bit of the "dog" Noishe used to be.

"Had to," Noishe continued, rubbing dust off the apple he held in one hand. Artemis raised an eyebrow, which became hidden in his long and thick black bangs, making it look as though that brow simply vanished completely. Through force of habit, Artemis unconsciously placed his hands on his hips.

"Why, did something happen?"

Noishe took a fair bite of the small red apple, crunching the fruit flesh. He swallowed.

"Lloyd and Colette practically came flying in here late last night, along with Sheena. Hikaru and Satsuma were with them while they were out."

A sudden, frigid feeling of intense dread plunged into Artemis' gut. He was glad Sheena and the others were all right, but . . . he'd never wanted innocents to suffer meaninglessly! Artemis' arms hung limp at his sides, those rusty red eyes of his looking up at Noishe with naïve, grave disbelief.

"What happened to the Nightshade sisters?"

Nightshade, Moonshadow, Sunstone, Starflame . . . such surnames were not very common among humankind, and so when Artemis first heard their surname, he supposed that the sisters had taken their missing elven father's name. Noishe just took another bite of his apple, perhaps to stall from answering Artemis' question. Finally, after an eternity of chewing and rapt silence, Noishe swallowed.

"Those Sybakan researchers hired remnants of the Papal Knights (now degraded as mercenaries) to find and capture the Nightshades, to bring them to Sybak."

Artemis needed no further clue. Yelling out in frustration, Artemis furiously kicked over the already shabby coffee table, still frail from the days-ago skirmish between Raphael and Zelos. Zelos had cared for his friends so much that he was willing to demolish his entire estate to avenge them. Or perhaps he was simply wealthy enough to replace everything he had and more.

Fists clenched and trembling at his sides, Artemis growled,

"Wasn't the king of Tethe'alla trying to put a stop to all this half-elf discrimination bullshit!"

"I see word travels fast." Noishe replied, continuing to eat his apple. So calm. So casual. Artemis rounded on him in an instant.

"Even an isolated village could get word like that!"

The shouting could've roused everyone in the entire mansion, but Artemis wouldn't give a damn. Noishe simply sighed, lowering the hand clutching the half-eaten apple. Only a life as long as his could result in such calm and serenity.

"Artemis. Think about it logically. Sybak is a royal research city. They have the royal family's support. If we act against them, we'll be executed for treason, even if the majority of our group saved Sylvarant and Tethe'alla."

Artemis stomped one foot, shouting back,

"Then if word reaches the king, can't he stop them?"

Noishe only waited long enough to speak unimpeded again, as if he were trying to explain something to a child so complex, he must mince his words to understandable terms. Artemis' blood boiled.

"We can't impede Sybakan research. Results from that city improved Tethe'alla in countless ways and extents. If experimenting on two half-elves will benefit Tethe'alla, then even the king will yield. Should we try to stop Sybakan research, we'll be arrested, thrown in jail. Need I remind you that if we're in prison, we can't help Hikaru and Satsuma?"

Artemis worked his jaw, trying to say something, anything, but the words died before they were born. Noishe was right, of course. Inhaling a deep breath, Artemis fought to beat his anger into submission. He inhaled, exhaled. Looked up at Noishe, who in turn looked at him.

"All right." Artemis snarled, the last bits of indignant rage flickering before dying completely. He withdrew the deck of spell cards, slamming them on the bedside table by the sofa where Noishe sat.

"What do you propose we do?"

Still, the notion of this happening because of him would not stop gnawing at him from the roots.

Why, after knowing of their plight, had he dragged those two all the way to Tethe'alla?

There was a trashcan in the far corner of the room; Noishe stood, deftly tossed the apple core, and with a dull thump landed its mark. A smart-ass smirk was etched into the Protozoan's features.

"The Papal Knights, or rather, the remnants of them, have no particular loyalty to the crown. The previous pope simply paid them well."

That wolfish, fanged smirk grew wider.

In spite of himself, Artemis couldn't help but smile as he worked out what Noishe meant. Sybak was under the king's protection. The Papal Knights, however . . .

Artemis swiped up his card deck, shuffling them before pocketing them.

"We'll stop the knights. Before they get to Sybak."

Noishe could've laughed with mirth.

"Took you long enough!"

Still wearing that fanged wolfish smirk, Noishe went to wake those still slumbering.

Impatience welled up within Artemis.

Their next destination would be the Grand Tethe'allan Bridge.

Hikaru had never seen the labs inside of Sybak. She'd been inside the library, doing research on item creation techniques taught to her by her father, but that building was the sole one she'd been inside of. Now, as she and Satsuma, escorted by a host of former Papal Knights, approached the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge, Hikaru knew they'd see much more of the buildings inside Sybak. Since the researchers wanted to investigate their powers so badly, Hikaru was absolutely certain they would do anything in their power to secure her and her sister.

Amber eyes darted to the handcuffs binding her hands.

She hated this sort of Tethe'allan technology.

Binding her hands, from which she and most other magic users channeled magical energy, mana, these handcuffs disrupted the proper bodily flow of mana, rendering Hikaru unable to use magic. With a disrupted mana flow, attempting to use magic could easily severely injure, if not kill her.

And their weapons and items had been confiscated. Their captors were big, brawny, heavily armed and armored. As she and her sister were led, Hikaru realized there was absolutely nothing she and her sister could do to free themselves.

Back in the Meltokio marketplace, where they had been kidnapped, the sisters had been out shopping with Lloyd, Colette, and Sheena. Foolishly, no doubt, they split up to get the shopping done faster, and while they were checking out the weapons and armor merchants' stalls, Satsuma noticed they were being followed.

From then, chased into an alleyway, met a dead end, and captured. Hopefully, Lloyd and Colette had sensed their screams and battle cries as well as magic, since angels have severely enhanced hearing.

As the crossed the threshold of the Bridge, all the sisters could do was walk and wait.

Early evening was setting down on them. The wealth of glimmering stars were bare, uncovered from cloud or fog. The evening air was cool, not too cold nor too hot. If the party marched quickly, the Bridge could be reached from Meltokio within half a day. They could not afford to wait too long, so Raine, the unofficial leader of the group since her trek with her half elf brethren (save Artemis) in the Triet Desert, assigned Lloyd and Colette to retrieve the Nightshades.

Bearing wings and angel skills, they were the best choice, for time was short.

Ever since they started out to the skies, silence reigned between Lloyd and Colette. He was awkward, ignorant of what to say or how to address Colette. Kratos had claimed before that Lloyd was "clinging to the Chosen," but in fact, Colette was the one clinging to him. She had relied on him after Cruxis had been exposed for what they were. She had relied on him for everything—companionship, emotional support, a refuge when she felt all was lost.

Lloyd felt ashamed of himself.

Everyone, including himself, had expected him to wind up with Colette as a spouse. They had everything; they supported one another in every way imaginable. Every way, but for the one factor.

Lloyd simply wasn't in love with Colette.

He thought he was, but that was until that fateful day on the Ossa Trail, when he had first laid eyes on the elegant ninja, Sheena Fujibayashi. How she carried herself, her bold, confident voice, and her beauty, only enhanced by the early morning sunlight, captivated Lloyd. Clumsy as she turned out to be, Lloyd thought no less of her. Of course, when he fought with her when she was trying to assassinate Colette, Lloyd had steeled himself; he could not fall in love with the one intent on killing the Chosen. The death of the Chosen had meant the death of the world.

When Sheena later explained the existence of Tethe'alla and her wish to peacefully settle things instead of violently, Lloyd's hopes had shot up. Loving the enemy wishing to kill the world would damn him forever in the eyes of Sylvarant, yet if they somehow managed to succeed in ending things peacefully . . .

Lloyd, beyond all odds, succeeded, with everyone's help, in freeing the worlds from Cruxis' tyranny and reunited them. Even Martel was freed. Hope flared within his heart like a beacon shining to a stormy and raging sea.

And yet . . . the obstacle hardest to conquer was not one of worldly proportions.

Colette had not handled rejection well.

Almost a week after the resurrection of the Giant Tree, Lloyd had visited Mizuho, Colette and Genis in tow because their visit had just been arranged on Sheena's official proving day as a chief of Mizuho. Raine, Regal, and Presea couldn't make it because of pressing political matters to attend to, but they sent their regards in the forms of hand-made cards and thoughtful gifts. Zelos had been there first, since Meltokio was closer to Mizuho than Iselia.

After Sheena's speech, the four of them presented Sheena with their gifts and congrats to honor this achievement, but Lloyd wanted to speak with Sheena alone. He had not announced this; the others were too busy, drawn into the festivities of the villagers. So it appeared.

By the garden, where Sheena had always spoken with Corrine when she felt low, Lloyd had pressed a box of jewelry into Sheena's hand. Opening it, she was stunned. It was Lloyd's locket, the one bearing a photo of Kratos, Anna, and infant Lloyd, but there was another photo, one of Sheena and Lloyd, taken the very same day the Giant Tree had been resurrected. Lloyd then asked her to accompany him on his journey to rid the world of the Exspheres, or rather, to free those poor souls.

Colette had overheard their conversation, not to mention witnessed Lloyd kiss Sheena, what with her keen angel senses.

No matter how hard she tried to hide it, she could not.

This had affected Zelos as well.

They flew over the Bridge.

The group of Papal Knights was easily seen from this height as well as the Nightshade sisters. The angels descended, weapons drawn. The knights halted, lances poised to strike, reluctantly. They had not forgotten the Coming of Spiritua.

Lloyd stood, Material Blade drawn. His wings did not disappear. Hikaru and Satsuma simply beamed at he and Colette, their saviors.

"Kindly hand over the young ladies in your company," Lloyd said, shaking previous thoughts of Colette's broken heart to better concentrate on the battle at hand. Colette merely nodded, chakrams in hand.

The biting cold oceanic breeze blew, whipping their clothes about their bodies, a soothing caress if you were not wearing uncomfortable armor. The leader of the knights-gone-mercenaries shook his head, no, signaling the others to keep their quarry out of the angels' reach.

"Not even angels will stop us from completing this mission! I'd heard that the Church is undergoing reformation by the king himself! Cruxis had lied to us. Angels, emissaries of Cruxis, will not impede us."

Lloyd knitted his brow together, and old wound scraped raw. Blades of fire and ice were raised in a threatening stance, a warning not to piss their owner off.

"I am no more a Cruxisling than you are. We came for our friends, and I'll be damned if I'm leaving without them!"

His voice raised to shouting as his statement drew to a close. He looked to Colette, who seemed to understand his intentions. Weapons were lowered, put away, much to the confusion of the Knights. Hovering closely together, the two angels joined hands, facing one another, rusty red eyes looking deep into dark lapis lazuli ones. Without the aid of Kratos and Zelos, the spell will be much weaker, but with Lloyd and Colette's powers put together, it was still quite a formidable force.

Magenta and blood red crystalline feathers whirled all about the two angels, beginning an invocation.

"Gods above . . . cast your purifying light on these corrupt souls . . . abandon all hope here, sinners! Final Judgment!"

Darkness invaded the world.

The bright feathers still made a protective whirlwind about the angels.

A heavy rain of manifold light rays purged the Knights from the world, their screams ringing in Lloyd's ears. He released Colette's hands.

Light returned to the world, the full moon shining on the bridge.

Wings dispersing, Lloyd and Colette rushed to the Nightshades, who had looted the keys from their guards and unlocked their shackles.

"You guys okay?" Lloyd asked, getting nods in response.

As the sisters recovered their supplies, Lloyd turned to Colette, whose eyes betrayed her emotion.

"I'm sorry," was all he could bear to say.

Hikaru: There! Dost thou enjoy my chapter?


	22. Wraith

Hikaru::sniffs: Dammit. I have a stuffy nose, a stuffy head, and I can't think straight. I think I'm getting sick. :eats some radish kimchi::chugs down some iced tea: SWEET MOTHER OF MARTEL THAT'S SPICY.

Zelos: Then why are you eating it?

Hikaru: Because my nose and head are stuffy and spiceh stuff clears it.

Zelos: Okay . . .

Hikaru: By the way, Chester's hot.

Zelos: From Tales of Phantasia?

Hikaru: Damn right.

Zelos: But I thought _I _was the Tales stud muffin . . .

"Spell card."

"Wind."

"Earth."

"Damn. Fire."

"Vajra."

"Ice."

"Acalantha."

"Damn!"

"Shuffle. All twelve guardians are still in play."

The game passed almost monotonously. Outside Zelos' mansion, rain beat down on the glass windowpanes. A thick fog obscured the great city outdoors. It was one o'clock in the afternoon. Playing a game that was hastily made up on the spot that involved the guardian cards with Artemis, Sheena frowned as she put one of her Lightning Cards into play. One o'clock.

Lloyd had been gone nine hours.

The night before, when the Papal Knights had kidnapped Hikaru and Satsuma, Lloyd and Colette beat the stuffing out them, brought the half-elvish sisters back safely. Artemis was in a right fury; he'd wanted to help. But since he was human, not angel, he couldn't go. He'd just be a burden.

And now, Lloyd was missing.

Earlier that morning, Colette, and Zelos, endowed with superhuman hearing, started, awake, at about five o'clock, when it had just begun to rain. The front door had slammed shut, but since Zelos' mansion was so damn huge, those with normal hearing were undisturbed. Zelos and Colette, however, were troubled. Every room they checked, and when they came upon Lloyd's, they despaired. Lloyd's bed was empty.

There was no note, no nothing.

The only thing that could've been determined by the two angels was the fact that Lloyd had clearly left of his own free will, that he hadn't been kidnapped. Lloyd may not be the brightest crayon in the box, but he was a natural born warrior, his instincts honed by living all his life in a monster-infested forest with the occasional threat of Desians.

If Lloyd were being kidnapped, he would've made hell of the room, did everything in his power to make sure his allies would just _know. _

Sheena sighed, trying to think of a way to counter the card Artemis put into play: the Card of Water. In the game, when elementals were played, the best way to counter it was to pit it against its opposing element. Sure, both cards would be discarded, having canceled each other out, therefore disparaging any opportunity for points for both players, but she already used her Card of Lightning. The next best thing to fight a Water Card was her Card of Ice. When like elements were used, when they only slightly differed, the default dominant element would take over the other. In this case, Ice was dominant over Water. Artemis' Water Card became an Ice Card, therefore adding to Sheena's score.

On the sofas, Raphael, Genis, and Zelos reclined at their leisure, watching the game. Raphael had woken up with a stuffy nose and head, so Sheena gave him a small jar of radish kimchi to help clear him. Kimchi was not a Mizuhon food, originating in a village whose culture was similar to Mizuho's but still strikingly different. But that village was wiped out at the order of the Pope under the charges that the village was harboring half-elves. That village and Mizuho had traded with one another, so the way of making kimchi Mizuho adopted.

Artemis pulled a card out of his hand and played.

"Time."

Just for this game, Sheena and Artemis made new guardian cards. The process of making guardians didn't take long if one was skillful, and the materials required were only ink, quills, mana paper, a special kind of paper that channeled mana, and magical prowess. The new guardian cards incorporated new elements, such as time, gravity, light, darkness, matter, void, and of course those of the differing spheres, or parts that made up a planet's individual parts, or other planets.

Time's opposite was gravity, but Sheena didn't have that card in her hand. She played.

"Void."

Time cannot exist in a void. Nothing could. Void was the ultimate element.

Sheena absently looked at the couches.

Raphael was choking over his kimchi; it was extremely spicy. Zelos handed him a cup of iced tea.

Noishe, Colette, Hikaru and Satsuma left for the Elemental Research Laboratory. Raine, who had taken with her blueprints of the Rheairds from the Sylvarant Base, went with them. They were going to ask the half-elves at the lab to construct Rheairds for them. After all, their vehicle specialty was the EC, which was magitechnology. If they could build a modified EC, they sure as hell could build a few Rheairds.  
Genis spoke.

"Zelos. The mana from both Sylvarant and Tethe'alla is being drained by something. We don't know what or how, but it's happening. I know you know something."

The game stopped.

Raphael's jaw was agape, a forkful of kimchi halfway to his mouth.

All eyes turned to Zelos.

Zelos' eyes didn't meet Genis' gaze.

A small smile pulled at Zelos' lips.

"Heh. You're right. You're more elf than I am, after all. Of course you can sense these things more astutely."

Of course.

Genis pressed the Chosen.

"I suspect what you know might help us figure this out. Why the mana's declining, that is. What is it that can be harvested at the night of a new moon, from a place satiated in mana?"

"Mana fragments."

"Mana fragments?"

Zelos nodded, helping himself to a bite of Raphael's kimchi with a fork of his own. Chewing, he continued.

"Mana fragments are condensed shards of mana in physical form. While magitechnology absorbs mana from its environment, the process was too slow to keep up with fueling demands. Thus, during the Kharlan War, a nameless engineer developed a way of harvesting mana fragments. Mana fragments proved more fuel efficient for magitechnology."

Sheena nodded; this made sense. But what did that have to do with the mana declining and Lloyd's disappearance?

Zelos seemed to read Sheena's thoughts.

"Maybe . . . whoever is behind this Nemesis thing is drawing the world's mana to one spot, preparing for the new moon to harvest huge amounts of mana fragments. It must mean they're preparing fuel for magitechnology, or something that requires such quality mana fuel. Indeed, what . . ."

Sheena remembered what Raine had said before, that with Nemesis as a mindless monster running around, the Giant Kharlan Tree could be in severe danger. She banged her fist on the coffee table, the guardian cards all falling askew.

"The Giant Kharlan Tree. That's where the most mana is, and that's where mana is being drawn. The sooner we get the Rheairds made, the better!"

Everyone else just sat, eyes wide, their minds experiencing a state of shock. Of course, where else would mana fragments be harvested? Derris-Kharlan, but the person teleporting had to have a Cruxis Crystal, and in any case the comet was too far away to draw mana from.

Sheena gathered up her guardian cards.

Zelos stopped her.

"Whoa, there, Sheena. I know you're a great fighter, with your Summon Spirits and all, but the one fact remains, you are _pregnant,_ and thus can't go."

Sheena froze, her hand a few inches away from another card. She knew she was pregnant, though still quite early in the process, but if she took a hard enough beating or expended all her strength, she was likely to have a miscarriage.

But that wasn't what petrified her.

Zelos' stare.

Those ever-blue eyes, so dark and yet so friendly before now bored into her like the gaze of a basilisk or a gorgon, seething with a negative emotion. Anger or bitter resentment, she wasn't sure which.

That scared her.

She had learned, over the years she knew Zelos, to read his expressions like a book.

What was Zelos so angry with _her _for?

The front door burst open.

Noishe, Raine, Colette, Hikaru, and Satsuma all filed into the house, drenched, completely soaked through. Zelos rose from the sofa abruptly. Sheena didn't move. That glint she saw in his eyes, that hateful stare . . .it disappeared now.

"So what did you find out?" Tethe'alla's former Chosen asked eagerly.

Raine shed her coat, squeezing the water out of it. Raphael went upstairs to get towels so the five of them could dry off.

"They've recently perfected an ancient magitechnology machine called a replicator. It can synthesize items almost instantly. They're going to use it to make parts for the Rheairds. They'll be ready by evening."

Artemis whistled.

Sheena had to agree. The Elemental Research Lab never ceased to impress her continuously. She turned to Zelos, standing as she put her deck of spell cards away.

"I may not be going with you, but I have to use a Rheaird to go back to Mizuho. Or another city or something."

"Yeah, we'll go too."

Sheena about faced to see who spoke. Hikaru and her sister were the ones. Sheena arched an eyebrow.

"Why?"

Hikaru shrugged.

"Well, earlier we presented our case to the king of Tethe'alla. He promised us he'd see what he could do, but there's no guarantee he'll do anything. So we'll take a Rheaird and go back to Sylvarant, perhaps Triet, since that's where our father was last."

Sheena nodded.

"Thanks."

oOo

The rain had not let up one bit. Seven o'clock in the evening. At the mansion, the others were having dinner before they go search for Lloyd. Since Lloyd was known for not wishing to endanger anyone, it was very likely he went to the Giant Tree on his own.

Artemis felt infinitely bad for spiking everyone else's drinks with a sleeping drug, but it was for the best. He couldn't bear to lose anyone. He'd already had to go through the loss of his parents, friends, the parents of his friends, and his hometown once.

He didn't want to experience it a second time.

Soaking wet, Artemis opened the door to the Elemental Research Lab, rushing inside. The lobbyist nodded to him, recognized him as one of Sheena's group. Artemis thanked her, sprinted down the stairs into the basement. Three Rheairds were already finished. Two more were being built by the three scientists, two constructing the vehicle, the third using the replicator to synthesize parts.

"Hey, I'm here to pick up a Rheaird."

The female scientist didn't bother looking up from her work, referring to the blueprints Raine gave her.

"You with Sheena's group?"

The youth nodded.

"Yeah."

The half-elf working on the Rheaird waved him away.

"Go ahead, then. Take it."

"Thanks!"

Artemis withdrew his wing pack from his vest pocket, going to a Rheaird. The flying craft fit snugly in the tiny package.

Out in the rain, Artemis looked for a place from which he could take off. The main street was wide enough, so he ran in the heavy sheet of falling water, the droplets hitting his skin so hard it hurt. He raised the wing pack. Out came the Rheaird.

He stood on it, grasping the handlebars. Familiar with its controls, he shot straight into the air, into the clouds. His clothes were so drenched Artemis wondered if they would ever be dry again. He flew above the storm. Above the clouds, it wasn't raining, but it was still cold as Celsius could possibly make it. With a hand Artemis found a fire spell card. Its magic kept him warm.

From Meltokio to the center of the world where the Tower of Salvation used to stand was almost directly east. In any case, thanks to his elvish ancestors, he could sense the flow of mana on the earth below.

Just as Sheena speculated, it was drawn toward the Giant Tree.

Artemis shot like a bullet toward that place.

oOo

Lloyd blocked, parried the attack. Leapt back to dodge the oncoming slash. He charged toward his opponent.

"Tiger Rage!"

The slashes were almost impossible to protect against, even for a Nemespawn.

As Lloyd landed, he was taut, tense, his muscles burning.

At last he knew what that scarred Nemespawn meant by "wraiths".

Nemesis' sub-divisions were clearly intelligent enough to identify themselves as a certain entity, or at least the genders they preferred. The wraith he fought now called itself "Seventh Brother" to the other Nemespawn and "Seventh Son" to Nemesis itself.

Wraiths were visions of a living person's death.

Seventh Son had taken Lloyd's shape. It used Lloyd's techniques, fighting style, looks, voice, everything. The only difference was its outfit. It was similar in pattern to Kratos' Cruxis uniform, but in Lloyd's outfit style, and all black with silver fastenings and buckles.

The vision of Lloyd's death.

All black for the funeral.

Seventh Son—for Lloyd refused to give it power by naming it as his wraith—raised its twin blades, slamming them to the earth.

"Grave Blade!"

"Guardian!" Lloyd shouted, the green dome of defense deflecting the earth hurled at him. When the earth settled and the force field went down, Lloyd swung his Material Blade wildly, his strength producing multiple shockwaves.

"Demonic Chaos!"

Hit by each of the shockwaves, Seventh Son fell, stunned. Lloyd stole a quick glance at the Giant Tree, before which he fought Seventh Son in his heavy rain. The Guardian Martel, as well as every single Summon Spirit Sheena made a pact with, were all ensnared in the Giant Tree's abnormally large roots—for the Tree had in fact grown astoundingly bigger than the time Lloyd last saw it, as a tiny seedling.

At least forty-five feet high, it was enormous, as tall as the half-grown redwoods and thick as the oldest oak. And it would grow taller and thicker still.

Lloyd drew his attention back to the battle.

His girlfriend's Summon Spirits were trapped in the Tree's roots. Trouble was abroad here, with Nemesis and its spawn at the heart of it all.

Seventh Son recovered. He charged.

"Hunting Beast!"

This attack was quite effective against airborne and grounded enemies alike. Lloyd went flying, screaming as he went. His angel wings flowered from his back, allowing him to stop safely in midair. Lloyd hovered there, blood red wings keeping him well above Seventh Son, panting heavily. A great river of blood wept from a gash at his forehead, obscuring his right eye. Even so, his vision wasn't impaired too badly.

Lloyd fumbled for a Miracle Gel, popping the turquoise medicine in his mouth. It dissolved on his tongue.

He felt the gash on his forehead heal, the blood clotting to prevent more bleeding. With the back of a hand he wiped the blood on his face away so he could see again. The rain washed the remainder of blood off.

Lloyd held his Material Blade, aiming for Seventh Son, he who stole his shape.

Dove.

"Rising Falcon!"

As he landed, Lloyd thrust the two swords at Seventh Son. He blocked them with his own twin blades. Sparks danced along the four blades; Seventh Son's hard metal ones and Lloyd's, whose blades were forged of the purest elements of fire and ice.

They caught in a weapon deadlock.

They pushed at each other with equal strength.

Lloyd smirked.

He leapt over Seventh Son with his wings, turning 'round just in time to parry the blade attack. Lloyd decided the odds were in his favor.

"Raging Beast!"

Seventh Son's screams were drowned in the heavy sheet of rain and the loud splashes of thick mud as the blow floored him. His weapons were knocked askew, far from his reach. Lloyd walked over to the Nemespawn, swung his Flamberge so that its flaming tip barely touched the Nemespawn's throat. Faint burns marked where the Flamberge touched the flesh.

Seventh Son smiled.

Not smirked, but smiled.

"So you are one step closer to saving the world as you know it."

Lloyd opened his mouth to question this statement, but his voice died as Seventh Son grabbed Flamberge's hilt over Lloyd's hand. Instead of claiming the blade for his own, Seventh Son used Lloyd as leverage to pull himself up to stand.

Blood gushed like a fountain from his body as Flamberge stabbed him through.

Lloyd wanted to tell Seventh Son to stop, but could say nothing.

They stood, face-to-face, almost nose-to-nose with one another.

Lloyd stared into the eyes of the Nemespawn, of the wraith.

As it gave him another smile, blood surged from its mouth.

Lloyd couldn't move, his hand still gripping the hilt of Flamberge, Seventh Son's hands still grasping that hand.

Lloyd was killing himself.

With a strangled cry Lloyd kicked the wraith off his sword, the body thumping softly on the thick mud. The body dissolved into airborne mana streams, dissipating as they ascended.

All that was left was the ebony crystalline heart of Seventh Son.

Tears welled up in Lloyd's eyes as he knelt to pick it up.

Hikaru: Ah, my head hurts . . . please review!


	23. The Return

Hikaru: Did you know you could make your own powerful, fully functional bow, in just seven easy steps?? Go here: Hikaru owns nothing.

Five times more Lloyd fought after killing his own 'wraith'. The wraiths took on the shapes of people Lloyd knew and held dear. Genis, Colette, Raine, Zelos, and even Sheena. He'd almost lost that one, but he knew that it wasn't Sheena; he had seen it transform.

Five battles Lloyd had fought, and five crystals he collected.

He wasn't sure why, but after each one died, he automatically scooped up its heart.

The rain still poured heavily, a great silvery-blue curtain draped over the world. Lloyd turned, catching his breath, wondering where the next and final wraith was hiding. This site, the ruins of the Tower of Salvation, provided plenty of hiding places, places from which to ambush him or observe him. Massive chunks of debris stuck out of the ground, some of them toppling over because the rain softened the earth so much. From where he stood, at the foot of the Giant Kharlan Tree, Lloyd could even see just how many of those coffins were contained within the Tower.

Lloyd turned to look up at the Giant Tree.

It looked as if the Summon Spirits were frozen where they were ensnared in the roots. He tried awakening them more than once before, but to no avail. They simply stared back at him, eyes empty and clouded.

Lloyd's gaze wandered to the boughs of the Tree, whose grandeur was further enhanced by fully leafed branches. Even he, a human, could feel the intense, sheer wealth of mana gathered here, at the Giant Tree.

But wasn't the Giant Tree supposed to give mana, the essence of life, not take it?

Something caught his eye among the branches.

A shadowy figure moved.

Lloyd drew his Material Blade, battle ready.

The figure leapt down to the earth, splashing the rain puddles and sticky mud. The familiar blue sheen confirmed Lloyd's suspicion.

"I am First Brother of my siblings and First Son of Nemesis."

The sound of a metal sword drawn from a leather scabbard breached Lloyd's ears. The wraith stepped out of the shadows of the Tree, battle ready. Lloyd's breath hitched.

"You who slew my brothers and sisters, do you wish to intervene with Nemesis' plan?"

"What is Nemesis' plan?" Lloyd spat, muscles growing tense.

First Son didn't answer.

_Dammit, _Lloyd thought, _of all people, why must it assume Kratos' shape?_

Fighting this wraith, as it took Kratos' shape, shouldn't have been hard. Granted, he already fought and won against Kratos in three earlier battles.

Not to say that'd it been easy. Hell no.

First Son, if Raine's theories and findings had all been correct, had every single of Nemesis' abilities. Given how well its brothers and sisters fought against Lloyd, he wouldn't be the least bit surprised if First Son proved just as challenging, if not more, than Kratos.

Lloyd's heart wrenched.

Where had Kratos gone?

The mana beneath the earth began to draw toward First Son. A spell circle drew itself at First Son's feet. Lloyd forced himself to relax; he knew what was coming.

First Son raised its sword.

"Grave!"

Lloyd ran.

He was already a good distance away from First Son, and he closed that distance as quickly as possible. Behind him he heard and felt the sheer power of the spell as the mud transformed into jagged spears of rock, rising to pierce nothing. Its target had fled.

"Sword Rain Beta!"

Warm crimson blood splattered Lloyd's clothes. His swords were drenched with the liquid.

First Son managed to knock the attack off halfway through. It swung its sword.

"Fierce Demon Fang!"

The shockwave knocked Lloyd off balance, but his angel wings made up for it. Lloyd sidled, over to where the real Kratos' "blind" spot would've been.

"Heavy Tiger Blade!"

Up and down. The slashes forced First Son up as Lloyd jumped before slashing at the wraith downward with all his might.

First Son's body hit the ground with a dull thump.

It rose.

Charged.

Lloyd knew there was no other option if he wanted to end the battle quickly.

He held up his Material Blade, focusing on Origin's power.

Even if the Summon Spirit was imprisoned, his power still existed.

The Eternal Sword formed in Lloyd's hands just as First Son drew in. Lloyd threw himself at the enemy, Origin's power flooding through him.

"Falcon's Crest!"

The power ripped through First Son, quite literally. A gaping gash across its chest gushed blood, gouts of it splattering on the mud. The wraith fell. Soon enough it dissolved, leaving its glimmering heart behind. Lloyd picked it up.

The rain didn't let up.

He looked for any signs of Nemesis.

Saw none.

oOo

Poor Genis and Sebastian had a hell of a time cooking up a storm for dinner. They made all the expensive, rich, delicious dinners—steaks, prime ribs, salads incorporating rare and exotic ingredients, the most elaborated dishes of fruit, vegetables, and roots such as potatoes, and finished it all off with the finest sweets ever the grace the tables of Zelos' mansion, and that said a lot.

The two cooks made enough food to feed the Tethe'allan king and his progress, a great feast indeed. Artemis had helped out a great deal; he wasn't too bad of a cook himself.

In fact, his specialty seemed to be making and mixing drinks, non-alcoholic, of course.

The erm, cause of the making of the feast?

Feast it was indeed, and Sheena Fujibayashi couldn't get enough of it.

Literally.

She had eaten what could be accounted for half of the total food made, and hungry she was still. It was a good thing Genis made sure only healthful foods made it into the ninja's gullet.

Another blessing was the fact Sheena was devouring Zelos' food, who could always afford more.

Genis had heard of the legendary pregnant female's food cravings and the tendency of the female in question to develop a black hole for an appetite, but this was insane. Well, as long as it was healthy for Sheena and her future child, Genis would gladly cater to her every need food-related.

At the long table they sat, the furniture groaning beneath the weight of all the foods and platters and dishes upon it. Noishe tried to be quick about snatching delicacies he wanted before Sheena could reach them, but mostly he failed. Raine was picking at her food, lost in thought, Raphael had excused himself after drinking one too many glasses of water, Artemis left, too, and Zelos moodily stared at his plate, still covered with fresh food, fork clenched between his teeth. Hikaru, who had finished eating a small portion of the feast long ago, was reading a thick book she had found in Zelos' dust-covered library. Heaven knows why Zelos had a library. When did the Chosen ever read? Colette and Satsuma were making the best of a rainy day and playing out in the rain.

Genis sighed.

After this meal, everyone but Hikaru, Satsuma, and Sheena would go to search for Lloyd. They would go where Sheena suggested and check on the Giant Tree.

Genis took a sip of the fruit drink Artemis had mixed. He tasted pineapple, apple, strawberry, raspberry, and a few others he couldn't place. It was a strange mixture, but it sure tasted great. Within moments, he started to get droopy-eyed.

It must've been all the food he ate.

Genis rose from the table, ambling over to the living room, or at least one of them.

Throwing himself on one of the tattered, ruined sofas that survived Zelos' attacking Raphael, consciousness ebbed away almost instantly.

He slept.

oOo

A flash of purplish light blinded Artemis and a few tons' worth of power crushed into his middle, sucking the air out of his lungs. Coughing, Artemis struggled to gain his bearings, his vision swimming in and out of focus. When at last he caught his breath, he realized: lightning struck down his Rheaird, and he landed quite painfully in one of the boughs of the Giant Tree.

Artemis coughed again, pushed himself up to stand on the branch. He stood dizzyingly high from the ground. He groaned; moving even slightly brought white-hot pain searing through his body. The rain pounded, the wind howled, and Artemis off-handedly supposed he'd catch cold sometime soon.

But what happened down below, on the ground forty-five feet from where he stood, was what concerned him.

Each Summon Spirit lay trapped, entwined in the roots of the Giant Tree. Lloyd had finished off a Nemespawn that took Kratos' shape, and he bent to pick up something from the ground.

If all his information were correct, this was Nemesis' hiding place.

All that needed to be done now was to lure it out. Artemis frowned. How to lure out a shape-shifter whose true form no one knew? He knelt, carefully, looking straight down. A pool of mana in liquid form yawned before the foot of the Giant Tree. Artemis titled his head to one side, curious perked. Could Nemesis be hiding down there? Nemespawn, just like any other life form, needed mana to survive, and if their AI programs were just forms of Exspheres, than it was almost certain mana was required. Why would Nemesis, or the one behind it, require abhorrently large amounts of mana?

_Think._

Summon Spirits, the pure elements in untainted mana form with consciousness, are trapped here. The Guardian Spirit, Martel, was no exception. The wraiths were here, for Lloyd appeared exhausted, and Artemis doubted that any ordinary group of Nemespawn could prove so hard to beat. Somehow mana was drawn here, perhaps in preparation to harvest mana fragments, and finally, a deep well of mana that hadn't been there before.

A creaking above him startled him.

Directly above the branch he stood on, Artemis softly swore.

The crashed remains of his lightning-smote Rheaird weighed its perch down.

Artemis glanced to the earth below. Lloyd was surveying the scenery. Tree branches were close together, which Artemis assumed would make the trip down somewhat easy.

_Snap._

"Oh shit," Artemis jumped down to another branch, rapidly making his way down. The violent winds pushed the branches back and forth, and he almost lost his balance more than once. A loud crashing noise betrayed the inevitable fact—the Rheaird wanted ground, and it was damn well going to have it.

_Go, go, go, **go!**_

In his haste, Artemis' foot lost traction, and he slipped.

"Argh!"

Time slowed.

He felt nothing save his insides wanting to vacate his body, and he had plenty of time to watch the ground rush up to smack him in the face.

The violent ground vibration and loud sound of metal crushed against the earth woke Artemis from his daze. He sat up, rubbing his head. The Rheaird met the ground, and apparently it became a great friend with it. Artemis struggled to stand. Even with an Exsphere, falling from a height of forty-five feet wasn't any less painful. At least he wasn't dead, nor were any of his bones broken.

Artemis began to advance toward Lloyd, to ask him how the search for Nemesis went.

Pain seared through his head, and he stumbled. He wanted to scream, but he didn't.

He couldn't.

His body moved of its own accord, standing, and he felt his lips pulled into a smile.

_There's nothing anyone can do . . ._

oOo

Lloyd cursed, getting back to his feet. The ground had shaken like a Ground Dasher spell, and he lost his footing. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the wreckage of a Rheaird, probably by lightning. He frowned. Who followed him here?

Twigs snapped beneath the feet of his answer.

"I'm glad I found you, Lloyd!"

Artemis sprinted up to him, smiling from ear to ear. Lloyd coughed, unsure of how to respond. He'd killed First Son, so was it unthinkable that the boy before him truly was Artemis?

Artemis drew out his guardian cards.

"Are there any more Nemespawn? Wraiths, specifically?"

Lloyd shook his head, suddenly alert.

"No, not that I'm aware of. I've killed all seven wraiths."

Seven deaths.

It had been as if he'd killed his friends.

He shrugged the notion off.

Artemis stepped a ways away from him, cards held tightly in his hands. Come to think, why did Artemis know how to use guardian cards? Sheena said it was a secret art, that only members of Mizuho knew how to use them. Normal Exirians couldn't have known.

Suspicion welled up inside him.

He didn't recall ever seeing Artemis among the half-elves at Exire . . .

"I wonder . . . Nemesis' offspring shouldn't have been that _weak . . ."_

The boy turned to face Lloyd.

"Wouldn't you agree?"

At that instant, Lloyd defended himself.

"Guardian!"

Artemis' attack glanced off the force field, and Lloyd knew something wasn't right.

The battle commenced.

This muddy, stormy place was far from the ideal battlefield, nonetheless Lloyd would make do. Even with his wings, combat against Artemis proved very difficult.

"Demon Fang!"

In a flash the boy dodged it, leapt for Lloyd.

Purple cards scattered to the ground.

"Lightning Seal!"

If it weren't for his Exsphere, the shock would've killed him. Oh, how Lloyd _despised _lightning . . .

"Hurricane Thrust!"

As he thrust forward, Artemis hooked his arm about Flamberge, burns searing up his arm as he did, gouts of blood dripping to the ground. Lloyd tried to pry the boy off his blade, but Artemis maintained a good grip on the hilt. His free hand withdrew another card. Lloyd's heart sank. He recognized that card—

"Guardian of—"

He didn't know what else to do. He abandoned the Flamberge, took the Vorpal sword and thrust. Artemis dropped everything, his cards and the Flamberge. Lloyd reclaimed his sword, battle ready once more. Artemis laughed.

"So you still have it in you to fight . . ."

Still?

Artemis turned toward the Giant Tree, Yggdrasil. The guardian cards he left, getting drenched in the rain, ruined in the mud. The boy walked toward the Tree, stopped before the well of mana.

"Artemis!"

The boy flung himself into the well. Surely he would drown.

Lloyd didn't know what else to do. In moments he dove into the mana well, searching for Artemis. In a second he gasped. He could . . . breathe this mana. It wasn't liquid at all, just . . . mana. Artemis floated before him. Lloyd grabbed the boy, unfurled his wings, and ascended to the surface.

Artemis was unconscious.

It would be unwise to leave him, soaked through, lying in the mud, so Lloyd carried him to a bough of the Tree, leaned him against the trunk. He glanced below.

_Something _emerged from the mana well.

Lloyd's heart stopped.

The _something _turned to be a child, no older than Genis, clad in a white, green-bordered tunic, with green pants and boots to match. Green eyes glowed behind a curtain of rich golden blond hair. Glimmering wings bearing all the colors a rainbow would boast about appeared, sparkling like diamond.

Spine-chilling maniacal laughter cut through the silence.


	24. The Flow of Time

Hikaru: Muwhahahhahaha! Yes, I am evil!!

_Hikaru gained the title of **"Evil Genius"!!**_

Lloyd:is frightful: Am I gonna be killed again?

Hikaru: We'll see.

Lloyd:pouts:

Hikaru: Anyway, I thought you all should know . . . THE END IS NIGH! Not this chapter, though . . . a few more chapters from this one . . . I don't know exactly which one . . . but soon! Soon . . .

Lloyd: Hikaru doesn't own anything . . .

Satsuma splashed in a rain puddle. Forgetting you were no longer a child and acting like one was incredibly relieving. You didn't worry about what you were going to do, what troubles you had before, whether or not you'll get sick . . . all you had to do was just play. The rain and winds hadn't let up, and Satsuma, drenched through, thanked her lucky stars she had waterproofed her leather trench coat. Nearby Colette had slipped on the slick Meltokio cobblestone, falling on her rump. The two girls laughed.

The gigantic clock tower rising above the Tethe'allan Castle boomed, its bell toll startling them. Colette, with her keen angelic eyesight, read the time.

"Wow . . . we've been playing out here for two hours . . ."

Satsuma blinked. Two hours?

"Uh, shouldn't you guys get going?"

Colette nodded.

"Yeah. I wonder what everybody's doing?"

Dread crept in her gut, churning it. She ran to Zelos' mansion, Colette in tow. The doors were unlocked, and in her haste Satsuma slammed them open. The mansion was eerily quiet. Satsuma proceeded into the living room. Genis snored softly on one of the sofas. Sheena's guardian cards were scattered on the coffee table. Satsuma and Colette exchanged worried glances.

The kitchen was a right mess.

Silverware, platters, dishes, and cups were knocked over where each person seated at the table slept. Sheena had collapsed on the floor, a metal goblet still clutched in her hand. Zelos' face had fallen right on his plate, his fork still in his mouth. Raphael slept in his chair. Raine fell off her chair, Noishe's face lay in a pool of fruit juice, and Hikaru looked awake, reading a book, her face propped on her hands, elbows on the table.

When Satsuma approached, a greeting half-formed on her lips, she stopped.

Hikaru was also asleep.

Colette spoke.

"What happened here?"

Satsuma picked up a cup of juice, taking a small sip. She spat it out.

"I taste pine berry." she saw Colette's confused expression.

"It's a berry picked from bushes that grow at the trunks of pine trees. If you eat enough, they'll make you fall asleep."

She frowned as Colette absorbed the shock. Whoever mixed these drinks made them with other fruits besides the pine berry. A fine way to cover it. But who could've done this, and why . . .?

Colette's voice jolted her out of her thoughts.

"Artemis is gone . . ."

"What?" Satsuma snapped.

"He's gone," Colette repeated.

"Oh no," Satsuma turned on her heel, dashing out of the kitchen.

oOo

He laughed.

It was all he could think to do at first, at that precise moment he crawled out of the mana well. After half a year, how joyous it felt to be _alive _again. For what felt like an eternity he watched as his soul lingered in the fragments of his Cruxis Crystal. Watched his enemies utterly destroy everything he worked so hard for. The two worlds were reunited, Derris-Kharlan stopped moving away, and the Great Seed germinated. But . . .

Martel had not disappeared.

Instead, that failed vessel, Tabatha . . . she accepted Martel's soul, and many, many others that had attached themselves to the Great Seed.

The moment the Guardian Spirit appeared, Mithos realized his mistake. All that trouble, for _naught. _Yuan and Kratos could've been content, he could've allowed them to carry out their original plan to save the world, Aselia, four thousand years ago, and still have been able to revive Martel . . . not even Yuan would have objected to that.

He would've still had his friends.

Mithos shook his head, his laughter dying.

He didn't need Kratos _or _Yuan, they abandoned him the moment he attached Martel's Cruxis Crystal to the Great Seed, although they loyally followed him when he established Cruxis, the Desians, and the Church of Martel . . .

Martel was all he needed.

Mithos flexed his limbs, fingers, toes, tilted his head this way and that . . . yes, indeed, this worked better than Altessa's soulless dolls did! It felt like his old body, everything he possessed in this body was down to a T.

He smirked.

Easy. How so very _easy _this had been! Long before Sylvarant's Chosen was even born, or even her parents, Altessa had introduced to Mithos the soulless doll, thereby proving the Chosen Ones obsolete. Mithos loved the idea. Martel could actually be revived as herself, not with the body of the Chosen who revived her. Alas, the doll rejected Martel's soul. The other Cruxis dwarves shamed Altessa, and Mithos was quite furious as well.

Shortly after that, those annoying Renegades raided another Desian Ranch, stealing precious Exspheres. Mithos had caught them. It turned out, to his luck, that one of them was an authority of the Renegades' research facilities. The scientist had a family living in poverty, discriminated against because his wife had a half-elf husband and his children a half-elf father. Bribing the scientist wasn't particularly difficult. He instructed the scientist to use the other Renegade researchers to find a way to develop a genetically engineered being that could perfectly transform into Martel's body and thereby have no qualms accepting her soul.

By the time Kratos' son had killed his body and destroyed his Cruxis Crystal, the project, dubbed Nemesis for the nature of the desired result, hadn't been completed yet. His soul, free of the Crystal, wandered to the Sylvarant Base, where the bulk of the research took place. Those traitorous Renegades were still working on the project, no longer for Martel or Mithos, but for themselves, their own selfish thirst for knowledge. Finally, half a year later, it was completed. Half a year later, his soul, revived into the world of the living by the ancient spells of the Necronomicon, transformed into that of a Summon Spirit entity. Poor Colette, in a weak state of mind, submitted to his possession of her without so much a fight.

During the project, Mithos made sure Nemesis had the blood of Lloyd, his companions, Kratos, Yuan, Martel, and finally his own coursing through its veins. When he possessed Colette, he traveled to the Sylvarant Base. Yuan's men were brutally killed. Nemesis had been behind it. Satisfied with its abilities, Mithos had tinkered with its AI program, made sure it had no consciousness.

Without a consciousness, it needed mana to retain its body. Mithos took it here, where he created that well of mana. Nemesis he kept inside it. A lingering instinct in the AI program led Nemesis to sub-divide. Thus the Nemespawn were born.

When Mithos encountered Raine with her group in Triet, he went back to the Sylvarant Base, to set up a decoy. Using Colette's memory and his own of one of the Renegade scientist, he created a miniature, spherical projector, to mislead Raine's group about the origin of Project Nemesis.

In the end, everything worked out so _beautifully._

Now that Nemesis could provide a body for him, he could sub-divide one more time to create a body for Martel.

Once Martel was successfully, truly revived, she and he would go back to Derris-Kharlan, like he promised her—

"Mithos!"

He looked up at the one shouting his name.

A smirk pulled at his lips.

With his wings he became airborne, hovering to meet the one who stole _everything _from him. Lloyd's features were twisted in disgusted shock.

The only thing speaking was the raging storm around them, obviously the product of the Summon Spirits' anger.

"Good to see you, Lloyd . . ."

"How the hell—what did you—"

Mithos knit his brows together, lips upturned in a mock sad expression.

"You can't say I didn't warn you . . ."

Lloyd remained clueless, speechless.

Mithos rolled his eyes.

"I would make the same choice all over again . . ."

He held out his hand, a sword materialized in his palm, just like the one he used on _his _journey to save Aselia. Lloyd finally regained his composure, drawing his swords, Flamberge for Kratos, Vorpal for Dirk, the traitorous dwarf who rejected Cruxis membership. Mithos held out his long sword. Rain droplets danced all along the blade, the engraved elfish runes spelling out _revenge. _

"I will continue to choose this path!"

oOo

Still soaked through and in a hurry that would put the time bunny from _Alice in Wonderland _to shame, Colette followed Satsuma into the Elemental Research Laboratory . . .

And fell.

Satsuma didn't stop to check on her. She rushed into the basement. Colette got up and followed.

One of the half-elves working on another Rheaird looked up. Four completed Rheairds stood, waiting to be whisked away. Colette stood by Satsuma, at the stair landing of the basement. She shivered; it was chilly, and the fact she was drenched didn't help. She'll probably catch cold later on . . .

The half-elf scientist stood, her hands stained black from working with the parts.

"You're with Sheena, right? One of your companions already took a Rheaird."

Here Satsuma cursed.

"Did he say where he was going?"

The half-elf shook her head, no.

"He just took the Rheaird, and left."

Colette knew what she had to do. Leaving Satsuma, she rushed out to the Meltokio streets, where she may find ample room to take flight. The storm still raged. Light flashed as one of the castle Tethe'alla's towers was struck by lightning. Her wings flowered from her back, glowing and warm in contrast to the chilled gray world. Behind her the Lab doors slammed open, probably Satsuma.

Colette leapt from the ground, the air currents pushing her into the skies.

No one followed her.

oOo

As Colette disappeared into the gloomy skies, Satsuma's first impulse was to follow her. Instead, she went back to Zelos' mansion, to try to wake everyone. This situation they needed to know. As soon as she got into the mansion, the first thing she did was run up to Genis, still fast asleep. No matter what she did, the little half-elf would not wake. Gently shaking, pinching his nose, dumping ice-cold water on him, to downright bodily dragging him off the couch availed her nothing. Just _what _did Artemis spike those fruit drinks with other than the pine berry?

Finally, she decided on loud noises. She took one of her pistols, loaded it with the enchanted bullets, aimed at a nearby vase of flowers, and shot.

Water, blue ceramic, and white flowers littered the floor, and Genis woke with a cry.

"I'm innocent! I swear!"

"Genis." Satsuma's voice was stern. The half-elf sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"Satsuma? What's—"

Quickly she related the story of the goings-on, and went to the kitchen to awake the others. Sheena didn't want to wake up; she'd eaten too much. Zelos woke at the sound of the words "hunny" and "bed" in the same sentence, Raphael had to be poked awake, Satsuma slammed Hikaru's book shut, Genis tickled Noishe's ears, and Raine woke up when Genis mentioned ruins.

Satsuma rallied them all together, explained the situation.

Indeed, it seemed as if Lloyd had gone to the ruins of the Tower of Salvation, and Artemis and Colette went after him.

"We don't know what's going to be there. It's best we proceed with caution." Raine got to her feet, grabbing her oak staff. Satsuma nodded.

"Let's go!"

oOo

Rain pattered.

Wind howled.

He felt whatever he sat on swaying.

Voices roused Artemis from the abyss of unconsciousness.

He sat up, almost lost his balance, clinging to the branch of the Giant Tree he perched on. Artemis glanced around. Two angels fought, swords clanging, sparks flying. With a start he recognized them.

Mithos and Lloyd.

The two angels were fighting in midair—constantly tumbling over one another, swords clashing in attempts to attack, defend, or disarm. Mithos relied not on steel alone. Every time he crossed swords with Lloyd, magical light would flash, but Lloyd took it all in stride. A few times Mithos called powerful lightning, wind, water, light, or earth magic that took no time to cast. Artemis' jaw dropped slack.

Mithos, although he gained a physical presence, still retained the powers of a Summon Spirit.

_This is bad—_Mithos parried Lloyd's attack—_very bad!_

Did Lloyd know Mithos was technically still a Summon Spirit? Artemis slowly rose to his feet, almost lost his balance in the swaying Tree. Before him, Mithos pushed Lloyd back, began a magic spell.

"Goodbye . . ."

Artemis' eyes grew wide.

_No . . ._

Lloyd recognized the spell, but hesitated a moment too late.

Mithos raised his sword.

"_Judgment!"_

"No!"

He didn't know what he was thinking—or rather, he didn't _think. _He leapt from the branch he stood on, threw his arms around Lloyd, a guardian card clutched in each hand. Just before the rays of light rained down upon the battlefield, Artemis activated the magic within the cards.

He saw the guardian—not one he recognized—and then saw the Mizuhon words on its wheel.

_Time._

oOo

The rain had stopped.

Instead of rain, Lloyd felt he'd been immersed in an entire river. He was powerless against the currents, his vision impaired by the water, and he couldn't breathe. Within moments Lloyd relaxed, sighed—for he could breathe—and saw floating beside him, the young boy, Artemis. He was unconscious. Lloyd blinked a few times over, trying to see. He saw, but the swirls of colors, bright star clusters, planets, and galaxies confused him. He tried to move. The river held him fast and wasn't about to let go.

Magic flowed alive in this place.

Lloyd blinked again.

_Where am I?_

Something flashed by.

A great sky dead in sunset, the blue gone, the clouds stained violet-pink, and red-orange accompanying the dying sun. Below on the vast grassy plains of Sylvarant, two armies marched toward one another, one bearing the banner of the Tethe'allan king, and the other carrying the banner of ancient Sylvarant. The Tethe'allan king led the charge, his daughter mounted by his side. Lloyd didn't recognize who led the Sylvarantians, and a pack of gigantic silvery-gray wolfhounds swarmed about the leader's horse—

Cities burned.

Mizuho, Iselia, Palmacosta, Meltokio, Sybak, Heimdall, and Luin—

Their temples destroyed, the Sylvarantian Summon Spirits were lost, trapped in a foreign world in which they helped to save, without any way to return to their original realms of the pure elements. Those Spirits were utterly forgotten—

The Tethe'alla Renegade Base destroyed, the Sylvarant one demolished by the Tethe'allan king's men—

The Grand Tethe'alla Bridge collapsing into the vast ocean blue—

Mountains falling into valleys, valleys becoming mountains, rivers running backwards, the land sundered—

Herds of unicorns traversing the great plains—

Welgaian angels lay dead upon the ruins of the Tower—

Colette holding the hand of a small child with blond-green hair, fluffy pointed white and green ears poking out of the nest of hair—

Raphael dead, reddish-gold angel wings glowing meekly—

And—

Kratos, sitting alone on the steps of Mithos' castle, writing in a leather-bound book, hands stained with ink, the quill pen no longer white—

For the village there was no hope. The buildings were burned, smote by magic, countless villagers lay dead or dying. Angels that had survived the collapse of the Tower attacked innocent people mindlessly, marionettes dancing to the pulls of their strings. The sky, stained black, the river dyed a sickening blood red. Out of a burning house a boy emerged, pulling on a young girl his age. They were dressed in Mizuhon garb. The boy, upon looking around, yelled in despair. His parents, a man obviously of no Mizuhon descent, and a black-haired ninja were heaped on the ground with other bodies, soaked in their own blood, run through by angels. The girl ran to her parents. An angel archer claimed her, his arrow of light piercing through her very soul. Her brother, the teenage boy, screamed again. He got to his dead family, pried two swords out of his father's cold hands. Reddish-orange and icy blue melded together, the grand blade glowing a violet aura. Murmuring a silent oath, the blade flashed, and the boy disappeared.

Cold gnawed at Lloyd. He groaned, stirring. Pushing himself off the ground, Lloyd sat up, surveying the environment. The sky was clear, velvety tapestries adorned with tiny, countless diamonds spread over the entire world, the two moons—Sylvarant and Tethe'alla—glowing side by side proudly. Below, clouds surged, storms raged. With a start Lloyd realized—he sat on one of the platforms of the floating city, Exire! Wildly he gazed around until his eyes landed on the patch of earth beside him, where Artemis lay. He was still knocked out cold.

Something silvery winked at the boy's throat. Without hesitation Lloyd took the necklace, careful not to break the delicate-looking chain. He stared, holding it up to the moonlight. It was a tarnished, silver locket.

A locket impossibly identical to the one he wore.

Hikaru: Whoot! I have an essay due Friday, Physics, English, and Geometry homework due tomorrow, and here I am updating! Thanks to the only, what, two, three reviewers who even BOTHERED to review lately!! Thank yous! I love you guys! Please review! Pretty please? Pretty please with a cherry on top??


	25. The Hunter of Truth

Hikaru: Thank you guys for reviewing! You're all so sweet! Sweet like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups! I swear I had at least five or six of those today . . . stupid addictive candy . . . and it was the individually wrapped ones, mind you!

Voice of Reason: Disclaimer. Less idle chitchat.

Hikaru: I remember in my Art I class last year, I made friends with the people at my table. I wanted to make a name for our group . . . most of them were Playstation fans (including myself), but one was a Nintendo fan . . . so . . . our name was Playdo!

Voice of Reason: I'm ashamed of you.

Hikaru: I own nothing but my plot, original characters, etc.

Artemis groaned, stirred, awake. He lay flat on his back, his eyes met with millions of glowing stars, and the two moons. A light breeze played with his hair. He recalled, traced back his memory. Mithos had been about to kill Lloyd with angel magic, Artemis jumped from the Giant Tree to Lloyd, called a guardian—the guardian of time. Fortunately, like the other guardians, it didn't transport them through time, but as they were transported somewhere other than the center of Tethe'alla, they must have seen the river of time, or at least been in it. He recalled nothing of the sort, but he knew what the guardian would've shown him. The future of this world if Mithos wasn't stopped.

The angels already destroyed his hometown, killed his friends and family. That small village would only be a fraction of the total destruction Mithos would inflict. As a Summon Spirit in his own right, he had powers beyond that of even Origin. The fact that the other Summon Spirits were trapped was proof enough.

Artemis frowned. This sensation. Sitting upright, he knew. The guardian transported the two of them to the floating city, Exire. The place he claimed to hail from. The last respite of half-elves in a world full of discrimination, and the resting place of Maxwell, the Summon Spirit of Birth.

The wind blew. Artemis arched an eyebrow; something didn't feel right—his hand flew to his throat. His eyes went wide. It was gone.

His locket was gone.

Incessant, anxious clicking drew his attention. Lloyd sat at the edge of the platform, legs dangling absent-mindedly. His lips moved in conversation with oneself. The thing he held was small, silvery, and with his fingers clicked it open, clicked it shut.

"So, you want to tell me who you really are, _Artemis?"_

Artemis flinched although Lloyd couldn't see, as his back faced Artemis. The boy hung his head low, hands clutching at the fuzzy Exirian grass. How old was this land, and how had it survived the erosions of the winds and storms? Perhaps Maxwell protected it.

"I found it funny that someone claiming descent from Exire would know the Mizuho art of guardian card making. Sheena said it was a secret art, and the only way to learn it was to become a citizen of Mizuho . . ."

Tears welled up in Artemis' eyes at the mention of his hometown.

_Click._

Lloyd kept talking, as if having a conversation with himself.

"Heh. I love Sheena, knew I'd marry her . . . but I never thought to have twin children. A boy and a girl . . .Kratos would have a ball if he knew . . ."

Descended from angels. Artemis smirked. His grandfather was an angel, his father half an angel. He was a quarter angel, like his twin sister. To have a family truly descended from angels was like spiting the Chosen Ones of old.

"That guardian showed me the future. I'll have a family, live in Mizuho, and entrust the Material Blades to my children—Flamberge to my daughter, Vorpal to my son. You and your sister would learn swordplay and the art of guardian using. We would be happy."

Artemis cringed. _Crap._

"But angels controlled by Mithos destroyed all that. As the only surviving member of Mizuho and my family, you took the Eternal Sword and traveled to this time."

Lloyd turned around to face Artemis, holding up the locket. On the chain with the locket was a gold ring engraved with ancient elfish runes.

"You bear the Ring of the Pact."

oOo

Colette was the last of Sylvarantian Chosens. She never thought to use evil means of accomplishing something. As the rain poured and lightning accompanied by booms of thunder, Colette coughed, grabbing at the trunk of the Giant Tree for support. Mithos hovered nearby, smirking maliciously. Blood streamed from Colette's numerous wounds, earned in her struggle to fight Mithos. Her wings glimmered weakly, fading.

"Oh come on, Chosen One! You can't honestly tell me you broke all five seals of Sylvarant, the declining world, with _that _sad excuse for fighting! Or did Kratos and your companions just baby-sit you?"

Colette gripped her Angel Halos tightly, the rings of light glowing. She stood apart from the Tree, hovering above the ground a few inches. Mithos looked perfectly fine. Colette coughed again. Reluctantly she withdrew something from the folds of her robe—a thick, leather-bound book. Mithos cocked his head to one side, curious. Colette gingerly opened the book, knowing she would probably be forever damned. She invoked the magic within the Necronomicon.

The souls of the dead were composed of mana infused with consciousness. Here, where all mana gathered, souls of the dead were aplenty. She called up the souls of the dead, those killed directly and indirectly by Mithos. The anger, sadness, indignation, anxiety and passion—these emotions engulfed her. Angry and sad of being rejected. Indignant that he would choose another over her. Anxious that she would find no one to love her. The passion she felt for him and no other. Colette, fueled by these emotions and new strength the souls gave her, took flight and charged.

"Whirlwind Rush!"

Sparks flew as Mithos blocked the spinning chakram attack. Colette threw her chakram.

"Ray Thrust!"

Mithos fell, struck by the chakram. His sword was knocked from his hand. Colette swooped upon him, magical energy welling up about her.

"Angel Feathers!"

Mithos landed on the earth, just narrowly ducking in time for the rings of light to fly over his head. Colette returned to the Necronomicon. This time, another spell will have to do . . .

"Of illness, ill-will, anger, death, and despair. By this weaving, your souls are free to avenge your grievances!"

In a fleeting instant, Colette was utterly _blinded _by the massive gatherings of ethereal souls breaking to the surface from the mana below the earth, all converging onto Mithos. The angel screamed in despair as the souls suffocated him, bound his physical body and suppressed his spiritual being. In the midst of the Spirit's suffering, Colette allowed herself a small smile, still clutching the Necronomicon to her chest, hovering over the gnarled roots of the Giant Tree. If it weren't for her wings, she would have fallen over. She silently thanked Abyssion, ill-meaning as he was, for making extra copies of the Necronomicon.

Colette would face all nine planes of hell, be trapped in Niflheim, be devoured by the legendary evil serpent said to reside in Niflheim, Niddhog, and be rendered limb from limb if it meant stopping Mithos. Using forever damning magic in the process was a small price to pay to save the two worlds. Leaning on the Giant Tree, Colette prayed that Lloyd was all right.

Where had he gone, anyway?

oOo

Genis and Raine were insanely adept at casting protective magic against certain phenomena, and as the group of five flew through the storm-stained skies, Noishe had to be extremely grateful for it. Sheena, Hikaru, and Satsuma stayed behind. They would head to Mizuho, where Sheena would be well protected by her kinfolk. From then on, the Nightshade sisters would head to Triet, like they said. They held no obligation in this fight, and Raine had assured them everything would turn out all right. Raine, Genis, Zelos, Colette, and Lloyd all fought Mithos before. She would be damned if they lost now.

Of course, now Mithos was a fully-fledged Summon Spirit, even more powerful than Origin and Maxwell.

Noishe smirked.

Of course, before, Raine and them didn't have the humanoid Protozoan on their side, either . . .

Noishe sighed, the noise lost in the pounding rains and blistering winds. On a chain about his neck he wore the immensely old Derris Emblem. Back in Triet shortly after he evolved to his human form, Lloyd had given him the Emblem. The three "admonitions" found in Welgaia Lloyd had given to other people of the original group. Apparently, they served as more than mere reminders. Silently he wondered which trinkets Lloyd gifted to which people. The mirror shard would belong to either Raine or Genis; that was plain enough. Zelos or Sheena would have the broken spider figurine, and either Regal or Presea would have the chipped dagger. And Noishe had the Derris Emblem. Those beings in Welgaia—the Neglected, the Fugitive, and the Judged—were immensely powerful. Those reminders of weaknesses perchance preserved those beings' power.

As the Rheairds flew toward the Center of Tethe'alla, the Derris Emblem grew steadily warm at Noishe's chest, staving off the freezing chill.

oOo

Lloyd returned the locket and ring to Artemis, who put it back around his neck. They stood, silent for a few moments.

"I know your real name, Artemis."

Artemis' throat hitched.

"You chose your current name after your family and village were murdered. Artemis after the great huntress, and makoto, the Mizuho word for truth."

_I hunted for the truth behind the massacre._

"But I won't say your real name. Until Mithos is stopped once and for all, you will remain as Artemis Makoto."

At once Lloyd ambled off at a steady pace deeper into Exire. Not knowing what else to do, Artemis followed, falling in step beside Lloyd. As the two of them walked by, the half-elves, who had no idea what was happening on the surface, gave them quizzical glances. The older half-elves gave them dirty looks, as they were human, but the younger ones that lived their entire lives in Exire donned neutral looks when they passed by.

Underneath the floating city, the storm still raged.

"Where are we going?" Artemis asked timidly.

It was awkward enough coming back in time and meeting your future parents while keeping your secrets under wraps, but just imagine for a moment trying to converse with your future father as a teenager. Who, incidentally, happens to know you are his future child.

_Ugh._

"To the half-elf elder. We need a way to stop Mithos the Summon Spirit. We can't risk going to Heimdall right now; it's too close."

Of course. Apparently Lloyd wasn't all that dumb, slow, or dull-witted; those months trapped in the Sylvarant Base had an effect on him. As they walked, Artemis thought. At first he sought the spell book Necronomicon, to bring it back to the future and bring his village to life once more. But now that he knew that Mithos was the root of the massacre, he no longer needed the Necronomicon.

Mithos the supreme Summon Spirit. He _was _bound to Artemis by his pact, but that pact had been broken the moment Mithos took over his body in the mana well. That, and the fact the other Summon Spirits were trapped. Mithos now usurped the power of the other Spirits, including that of the Guardian Martel's, and in this way the pact was broken.

Artemis hung his head low.

He was such a _failure _as a summoner.

His mother had made pacts with _all _the Summon Spirits before Mithos.

Lloyd walked up the steps of the elder's house, knocking on the door gently. It opened immediately. The half-elf elder beckoned them inside.

"You're friends of Raine and Genis, right? Come on in."

Artemis followed Lloyd inside. The house was only one-roomed, had only one chair, table, bookcase, and one bed, all in the same room. Artemis guessed that in Exire, where building materials and space to build are scarce, they have a single building for other such necessities like cooking. The elder beckoned his visitors to have a seat on the bed. Artemis and Lloyd obeyed.

The elder sat down in his chair, facing Lloyd and Artemis. His hands were folded, he smiled pleasantly.

"What brings you two here?"

A chill ran up Artemis' spine. The half-elf elder seemed to be one of those people who had the kind of eyes that see deep into your very soul. Lloyd answered.

"Long story short, a new Summon Spirit has run amok, and we need a way to stop it. Do you know of any way possible we could stop it?"

That single question alone led to a lengthy discussion about Summon Spirit Mithos, how he originated, what sort of powers he possessed, the circumstances to call for such desperate measures. Artemis almost dozed from the dullness of the talking when a phrase nabbed his attention.

"That's simple. Your wild Summon Spirit needs a domain at which to stay until it is summoned."

A long silence stretched in the impossibly small home.

Artemis cracked a smile. Of course! New Spirits appearing was not unheard of, but few gained enough power to be reckoned with. All powerful Summon Spirits had a lair—Undine at Thoda Island, Efreet at Triet, Celsius at Flanoir, Sylph at the Balacruf Mausoleum, Luna at the Tower of Mana, Shadow at his temple, Gnome at the Temple of Earth, Volt at his temple, Maxwell in Exire, and Origin in the Torent Forest.

Even Corrine and Verius had a domain of some sort.

Aska was trusted enough to be left alone because he didn't abuse his Spiritual power.

Artemis looked up.

"How do we set a domain for a Summon Spirit?"

The elder nodded toward Artemis.

"First, you must have a pact with it. Broken or not, your besting the Spirit proves your worth. Second, extract the Spirit's mana. Find a suitable place; in your case, an area isolated from other Spirits and people alike would suit you best. Anyway, you then must fuse the Spirit's mana with the altar, object, or such so that it remains there until summoned. The object must have good compatibility with the mana, or the Spirit will be rejected."

Lloyd nodded, rising from his place on the bed. Artemis quickly mimicked his action. Thanks and farewells were exchanged, and the two went back outside into the city. Lloyd stood at the edge of a road, arms folded.

"Isolated from Spirits and people . . ."

Before Lloyd even said anything else, Artemis knew what the swordsman was thinking.

_Derris-Kharlan._

Hikaru: Whoot! Another update! I got an A+ on my essay! Double Whoot! Happy early Halloween, peoples! Please review!


	26. Call To Action

Hikaru: Went to San Francisco on Saturday to check out the Art Academy there. Pretty damn fun, but I went in there with almost fifty dollars and came back out with all of it. Sigh . . .

Nemesis: What about the disclaimer?

Hikaru: And where IS everybody? Are you all busy with school or something?

Nemesis: . . .

Hikaru: Sigh . . . I'm so sad now . . . :huddles in emo corner:

Nemesis: Hikaru Irving doesn't own Tales of Symphonia . . .

_This is dangerous, this is dangerous . . ._

Those same words kept running marathons through Genis' mind. They landed near the ruins of the Tower, but the mana here was completely unstable, like how it was at Shadow's dungeon. Only it was more severe. Just what the hell could shift the mana flow so much? The very land could be torn asunder if this kept up.

. . .which made it all the more important that they take care of Mithos once more. And when they did, they would have to make doubly sure that he would never arise as a problem again. But how?

A sharp pain jabbed in Genis' mind just as a bolt of lightning flashed, followed by a frightening roar of thunder. After the thunderclap, the pain ceased.

"Genis? Raine?" Noishe bent over him, hand pressed to the half-elf's forehead. Genis stood, swatted Noishe's hand away.

He turned toward the place of the Giant Tree. Sure enough, dark clouds swirled above, lightning danced all around. Pillars of lightning and electrical energy practically exploded.

". . .Volt."

"Volt?" Raphael dumbly repeated. Genis absently nodded. This presence, that mana, this strong vibration . . . undoubtedly it was Volt. Had Volt broken free of his prison?

"Yes, Genis, you're onto something," Raine said, her staff at the ready, faerie ring and mystic symbol in hand. Zelos drew his short sword, Noishe did the same, and Genis took his kendama.

Oh yes, Volt was free, and he doesn't look too happy to be betrayed by Mithos a second time. Vaguely the younger Sage couldn't help but wonder just how the Summon Spirits will feel about all people after this horrible ordeal, especially Origin.

Genis frowned.

Mithos.

Genis knew something was up the moment the pact between Artemis and Mithos was made. It made no sense for Mithos to be possessing Colette and wreaking havoc without a sound reason, and as Genis put piece by piece of evidence together, he grew fearful.

The first hint was when Artemis succeeded in forming the pact with Mithos. Mithos, a freely roaming Spirit like Aska, had no domain at which to rest and wait until a summoner beckoned. When Artemis had touched that ring of mana that was Mithos' power, Genis grew uneasy, for he sensed that Mithos' very being had transferred itself into Artemis' body to reside until summoned.

At first it seemed harmless. Artemis wasn't possessed, after all. But the discovery of the true Raphael, the wraiths, and the declining mana . . . Nothing came together.

Until now.

The troop rushed to the battleground, feet splashing the water and mud.

They came upon a most terrible scene—Colette, near dead, leaning on the trunk of the Giant Tree, spent. Mithos, battered but not quite beaten, panted heavily, hovering above the earth. Volt's lightning danced in the skies above. Genis could see—yes, Volt had freed himself.

Genis stopped just a few feet before Mithos, the trapped Spirits all around.

"Mithos."

The boy angel laughed, a high, cold, piercing laugh. He rose, turned to face Genis, and ignored Colette. Raine rushed to the former Chosen One of Sylvarant, her staff already glimmering with the power of healing arts. On Genis' flanks Noishe and Raphael readied themselves for combat.

The storm raged.

Rain poured.

Lightning danced.

Thunder boomed.

Genis shuddered; the Spirits were livid.

"Why, Genis, how nice to see you again," Mithos smirked, mana shining as he healed himself. Genis gripped his kendama tightly. Once before he'd killed his dear friend.

He must do so again.

"Mithos," Genis said through gritted teeth, "What are you doing here?"

Mithos ran a hand through his golden-blond hair, sodden bangs swept from his eyes.

Genis felt sick to his stomach.

"Martel is alive."

Noishe charged, Mithos swung his blade; sparks flew as the two came to a weapon deadlock. Genis couldn't move. He should help Noishe, he really should, he should begin his spell casting, but—

Mithos.

Raphael ran around, behind Mithos, intended to strike him, but was knocked away when Mithos teleported via a shockwave. Noishe stumbled, scrambled to get up again. Raine was still busy healing Colette, who heavily bled. Genis' mouth went dry, his throat tight. What was wrong with him? Mithos killed millions of innocent people over four thousand years—all in a futile effort to bring back the dead!

Why couldn't he strike now?

"Suffer!"

Mithos began to draw power from Volt's lightning storms, unfortunately the Spirit was in such a rage it cared not what it hit, as long as something died for Volt's being betrayed.

Genis began shaking; he couldn't properly hold his kendama—

Raphael tried to slash at Mithos but a force field flung him back—

Noishe struggled against the force field—

Mithos' mana amassed all at once, draining immense power—

Genis dropped his kendama—

"_Indignation Judgment!"_

By now it was far too late.

But Genis would be forever damned to the nine planes of hell if he lost here and now!

Power flooded throughout Genis via his Exsphere—and he prepared his magic.

"_Event Horizon!"_

The giant sphere that began Indignation Judgment abruptly dissolved into nothingness. Genis blinked. He knew not of a spell like to the one he just used. But he could tell what it did—the immense gravity sucked in the hostile energy and diverted it somewhere else. That meant other people elsewhere would suffer, but . . .

If Mithos succeeded this time, there was no question the entire world would wither and die.

Mithos smirked.

"Not bad, Genis. I thought no more who had the talent to use that spell existed."

Genis never retrieved his kendama—the newly acquired power that seemingly came into him from nowhere required only his own mana-channeling abilities on his own, completely.

Raine finished healing Colette; the angel slept against the Tree's trunk. The elder Sage joined in the fight, cast a quick Healing Circle on Raphael and was in no time battle-ready once more.

Noishe backed a distance; Mithos had his long sword again, and murder flashed in his bitter jade eyes.

"Genis!" Noishe roared as he fended off Mithos. The angel's strikes were swift and ruthless, the magic infused within his weapon strengthening his blows. Noishe blocked every single one of them. When Mithos left a slight opening, Noishe side stepped, and with a wide swing of his sword disarmed Mithos, the angel's weapon flying off into the sky.

Noishe took a deep breath.

"Genis! Use your mirror shard! Its residual power has enough to revive the Derris Emblem!"

Genis' jaw dropped, eyes wide. The mirror shard from Welgaia had residual power? His hand plunged into his deep pockets, and indeed he found the mirror shards. He winced as he accidentally cut his fingers on the sharp fragments.

"What will the Emblem do?" Genis hoarsely shouted back over the rain and thunder.

Noishe too drew out his keepsake of Welgaia—the Derris Emblem—and it glowed faintly as Genis focused on the residual "power" left within his mirror shards.

Mithos' eyes went wide when he saw the Emblem, with a scream he flew straight at Noishe, who with astonishing inhuman speed ran to the Giant Tree near the mana well. Mithos ascended skywards to try again. Noishe smirked that wolfish smirk of his.

"You're absorbing all of Aselia's mana—_all _of Aselia's mana. The Derris Emblem uses that very flow of mana within people to bring forth their inner demons—" Noishe flung the Emblem into the mana well.

Mithos, now halfway to the Giant Tree, halted abruptly, paled, all color gone. His eyes, no more than mere shells of a live person's, seemed to drain of its color as well.

Genis cracked a grin.

So even the almighty Mithos had his own demons.

oOo

There was naught else to do.

Rid of his Rheaird, Artemis had no way of getting off Exire, but Lloyd had formed a plan to subdue Mithos once and for all. So Artemis hitched a ride piggyback style as Lloyd braved the storm to get back down to the Giant Tree, to the battleground.

From above the storm centered around that particular area alone, and Volt was so lost in the prison of its own making that his power was beginning to dwindle—no.

Artemis felt it, and no doubt Lloyd could, too. Mithos was _draining _the world's mana. At this rate, nothing would be left, and Yggdrasill would perish once again! Especially now since it was so young, it would surely leave no seed this time.

Lloyd flew directly above the storm, skimming the black, electric clouds. Artemis drew out his remaining guardian cards—not much, but enough to defend himself.

"Artemis—" Lloyd shouted, "You know what to do!"

Artemis nodded. "Yeah!"

"Going down!"

Lloyd descended with all due haste.

When the angel was no more than ten feet above ground, Artemis leapt off his back, landed safely in the slick, muddy ground due to his Exsphere. Artemis did not look up as Lloyd flew off again; he would go to retrieve the last three to help—Sheena, Hikaru, and Satsuma would help to free the Spirits. Despite their powerful anger and rage, they no more could break out like Volt did.

A single Summon Spirit was exhausting the mana.

His own, the one he had agreed to stand by.

Well, the angel agreed to stand by his pact maker, and he broke that oath.

Artemis gripped his cards.

_Oathbreaker! Forsworn! Traitor to the earth!_

Artemis ran ahead to the main battleground.

Mithos still stood, he could feel it.

Artemis splashed in the mud when he stopped, stunned at the sight before him. Mithos knelt on the ground, holding his head, screaming, screaming with the agony and guilt—

Genis, Raine, Noishe, Colette, and Raphael were all safe and sound, albeit exhausted from the fight. Artemis rushed up to Mithos, guardian cards in hand.

"By your oath! You are mine! Swear it!"

Delirious, unaware of what he agreed to, Mithos murmured incoherently—

"On your name, Mithos, swear it!"

"I swear it! Just leave my sister alone!"

"A third time, you are mine!"

"_I'm yours! Leave Martel alone!"_

The magic was binding at once—no matter if the Spirit knew it or not. The power of names and words and wills and the magic itself binding with its energies of the dying and dwindling mana manifested. Mithos' form began to slowly dissolve into particle-like substances, and with a dim flash of light condensed, faded in Artemis' hand—the Derris Emblem.

Artemis stretched, sighed, looked 'round the battlefield.

And got battle-ready once more.

The remaining mana took on a definite shape and form—a strange gelatin like substance glimmering iridescent blue, turning a sickening red of blood, changed completely.

On the earth before Artemis laid the body of a young man, burnished bronze complexion, metallic fiery reddish-gold hair, dressed simply in a tunic, pants, and boots. Artemis didn't know what to do.

What should he do?

Here Artemis had Mithos once more—his mana had taken up residence in the Derris Emblem for now; eventually Mithos would overcome the Emblem's sway over him and emerge once more—wait.

That body . . .

Artemis approached it cautiously, pressed a hand to the unconscious person's forehead.

Stone cold.

Yet, Artemis could feel the life of the body, its mana . . .

"Artemis?" Genis cautiously asked.

"This is Nemesis," Artemis announced, standing up straight.

Everyone else averted their gazes to the limp body on the earth. Raine rushed to Nemesis, taking the body in her arms. It glowed as the half-elf worked her magic. Nemesis glowed that iridescent blue once more, and Artemis gaped as he saw an object in that sea of blue matter—

"An AI program," Raphael said softly.

Even with the fairy ring and mystic symbol in her possession, Raine strained to keep the magic working. She called out,

"Who else here knows magitech?"

Surely that was what the AI programs were.

"I do!" Noishe went to Raine, to assist her. He didn't take out the program, for certainly that would kill Nemesis; instead, he worked with the tiny bit of magitech inside Nemesis' body, reworking the grooves and flows of mana within the complex crystal. Finally the crystal glowed a light violet. Noishe withdrew his hands from Nemesis' immaterial body, and Raine's working ceased. The iridescent blue disappeared; Nemesis again appeared human.

"Why'd you do that?" Genis took a step toward his sister. "Nemesis was working with Mithos!"

Nemesis stirred. It groaned, breathed. Artemis glanced at Genis.

"Not of its own will. Mithos modified Nemesis' AI program to have no consciousness so that he would have an easier time possessing it." Artemis should know.

Noishe sighed, jogged over to the Giant Tree, where Colette still rested, alive. Mithos must've got her. Raine's energy had to have been spent healing someone, and as Colette was the only one on the sidelines . . .

Poor girl.

Artemis blinked, doing a double take.

Raine, Genis, Noishe, Colette, and Raphael . . . Sheena, Satsuma, and Hikaru were en route to Mizuho . . . Lloyd was going to get the women's help . . .

"Where's Zelos?" Artemis blurted out. If Raphael had come to fight, he who was almost a stranger and certainly had no strong reason to fight Mithos, then why hadn't Zelos come?

Here Raphael cracked a half-grin, sheathed his sword.

"Zelos? He went ahead to contact the president of the Lezareno Company, to warn them of Mithos' usurping control of the other Spirits. Certainly Volt's storm," Raphael needlessly gestured to the endlessly swirling clouds above, "would cause problems for people. Zelos also took steps to warn the rest of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant."

Genis laughed aloud as he scooped out his kendama from the slick mud.

"Wow, and I thought Zelos was just gonna sit at home!"

It could've been his mind playing tricks on him, but Artemis wondered—Raphael looked a touch annoyed for a split second. Oh, well. There were much more important things to do as of now.

The Spirits' rage was building, and since Mithos had stopped absorbing such huge quantities of mana, the flow was stabilizing itself, and the imprisoned Spirits were regaining their power steadily. As if to confirm this, the winds blew harder, the rain heavy like hail, and the lightning and thunder grew worse.

Artemis remembered—his father had told him of a place near the Giant Tree that could take people to Derris-Kharlan by utilizing Welgaia's ancient magitech—a warp pad. But—he scanned the battleground, the Holy Ground of Kharlan—and found nothing. It was that damnable mud!

"We need to find that warp pad that leads to Derris-Kharlan!" Artemis shouted over the howling winds.

"Why?" Raine yelled back, bracing against the elements, carrying the still half-dead Nemesis.

Artemis tried to walk, but the mud sucked at his legs, the wind tried to floor him, the rain ate his flesh away, and lightning could strike him at any given moment. His heart broke.

Volt had had enough.

But there was no time!

The Spirits, even imprisoned, let their immense power go unchecked. Only their pact-maker could disperse them and send them back to their domains of rest. Even then, they'd still begrudge the people of the world . . .

"Lloyd has a plan—to isolate Mithos from this world!" One step—Artemis would try for two.

Bright reddish-gold light flashed—and Raphael, airborne on fire-gold angel wings, flew directly at Artemis. Unceremoniously Raphael grabbed Artemis, whisked him away seemingly nowhere.

Artemis knew the moment Raphael set him down on solid ground, not slick mud. So the warp pad was in the ruins of the Tower of Salvation. Beyond here, the destroyed dais, not a mere twenty feet away, the Giant Tree, and everyone else were invisible in the storm.

What remained of the Tower's walls shielded Raphael and Artemis from the wind, if nothing else.

"What's Lloyd doing? What should we do?" Raphael shouted over the storm.

Artemis didn't need to shout now—Raphael was an angel.

"I'm going to Derris-Kharlan to isolate Mithos," he held up the Emblem, where Mithos' mana and therefore being was trapped, "Lloyd went to get Sheena and the Nightshades. They'll help free and disperse the Spirits before things get out of hand!"

Artemis turned to go to the dais.

Raphael grabbed Artemis' shoulder.

"What should we do?"

Artemis glanced over his shoulder.

"Take care of Mother—of Sheena!"

And Artemis ran to the dais, the magitech activating at his slightest thought.

Hikaru: Thank you all for those who read and reviewed! It's not done yet . . . there's still more to be done . . . Mithos being put out of power doesn't end it! BTW, don't take the bold message in the Story Status of my profile personally . . . I was just a bit frustrated. Please review!


	27. Lair of the Fallen Angel

Hikaru: Almost there . . . almost . . .

Corrine: Hikaru owns nothing that is not hers.

--

When the transporter took Artemis to Derris-Kharlan, he was first confused. Instead of standing before the old castle of Mithos, he stood on a light purple stone path that floated in a dark abyss of the most potent mana.

Then the boy remembered, smacking his forehead with a muted _plash._

"Duh! I don't have the Sacred Stone."

The Sacred Stone was returned to the elves of Heimdall, after Lloyd and co. used it to burn the book of Niflheim. Artemis looked on, at the bones of the undead swarming the paths ahead with no one to keep them in check. Well, taking a little walk wouldn't hurt him. Artemis whipped out his guardian cards, sure to have the light-elemental ones at hand.

The Derris Emblem burned in his palm. A frown set in Artemis' features. As a mortal-born Spirit, not elemental, Mithos retained his emotions, his humanish feelings. Mithos was fooled by his own trap no longer, and in Derris-Kharlan, a titanic mass of mana, the Spirit would have no need of Nemesis to gain at least a semi-physical form.

Artemis had better hurry.

With Demon Seal, most undead fell before him. But there were some monsters that proved much more difficult to defeat. As Artemis rushed, fled battles he could not fight alone, something made him stop. Or fall. The ground, floating ground, shook mightily, and Artemis lost his footing. Screaming, he grabbed the edge of the ground, hanging by his fingers. Below him were other levels of pathways, but he wished not to chance falling on them. He may miss entirely.

Artemis pulled himself up, kneeling on the stone path, gasping for breath. The ground still shook with strong vibration. Artemis glanced up. The other undead, including Samuel, scattered before the monstrosity that approached him—the phantom knight.

Astride his great dragon, the knight approached, shield hefted and lance ready. Artemis leapt to his feet, battle ready. His heart raced apprehensively. On the pathways, the ground was too narrow to serve as a battlefield, and even fighting on the bigger platforms nearby would be risky. If only Mithos hadn't wasted Artemis' cards when he fought against Lloyd!

An idea bloomed in his mind. He made sure he had the right spell cards, stood, and waited. The phantom knight spotted him, a lone, mortal human, and with a great high screech, charged. Artemis blinked as he watched the knight come forth. The undead were endowed with brute strength, but why weren't they very smart?

Because, being undead, they lacked _brains._

Once the dragon knight was close enough, Artemis threw a spell card.

"_Gravity!"_

The one card alone wasn't enough to draw enough power from the mana around it, but the half-baked attack was enough to take out part of the pathway. It left not a scratch on the phantom knight, but it noticed far too late the gaping hole in the path. Its dragon tried to skid to a stop, but the ancient stone crumbled beneath the heavy animal, and the phantom knight fell to its doom.

Artemis smirked with poorly hidden satisfaction as he easily leapt over the gap in the road. Being raised in Mizuho had its benefits.

Posthaste the young man went onward to the next level of stone roads, making his way toward Mithos' castle.

--

Satsuma was glad her weapons were waterproof. With the sudden storm of heavy rainfall, and airborne monsters to contend with, her handguns were invaluable. She'd gotten the gist of Rheaird riding easily enough, but Hikaru couldn't fight and fly simultaneously. Besides, there were no Giant Tree roots up here in the sky. Sheena led the small party, as she knew where her hidden hometown was while the half-elves did not. The shinobi shouted over the noise of the storm.

"There's the Ozette half of Gaoracchia! Descend!"

The three Rheairds swooped down to the entrance of the forest, reaching ground quickly and easily enough. The machines vanished into their wing packs, and the women made ready to move out once more.

"I hope everyone's all right . . ." Sheena muttered softly, inaudible to human ears.

"They managed to overthrow the main religion and law of two worlds," Hikaru chirped, "I'm sure they can handle a measly Spirit or two."

The jest made Sheena smile, if only a little. Satsuma took the lead now, her sister behind Sheena to protect Mizuho's Chief. Cautiously they entered the forest. Gaoracchia was fraught with undead monsters. Satsuma's guns were constantly in use, and the enchanted ammunition (especially light-elemental) was a huge help. Sheena wanted to fight, but the half-elf sisters had to politely remind her of her physical status. Although she stayed in one piece once during a fight, there were no guarantees of having such luck again. So Sheena, a shinobi of the Mizuhon Igaguri style, resorted to simply throwing shruiken and kunai blades at the monsters. Since the encounter with the remnants of the Papal Knights, Hikaru abandoned her two stilettos (gave them to Zelos), and instead stuck with the item-mixing alchemy her sister used and tree-magic. Item-mixing Hikaru enjoyed very much. Once a Fake had drifted among them, and using simply a few gels with a Flare Bottle, mixed, threw the concoction at the Fake, and destroyed it utterly.

Satsuma smiled at the thought. Clearly their father's item expertise (one of the few things he retained from his Heimdallan heritage) served them well.

Despite the storm, the darkness of Gaoracchia lifted as they traveled on.

"Right past this area should be Mizuho . . ."

Satsuma's ears twitched. She heard . . . whistling? Not when someone whistles, or the object itself, of course, but an object moved toward them fast . . . from above. She cupped her ears with her hands; yes, indeed whatever came toward them moved at supersonic speed . . .

A shadow descended upon their small group.

Satsuma dashed for Sheena.

"Incoming!"

Satsuma pushed Sheena out of harm's way, her guns already aimed above the forest canopy. Through the dark clouds and rain, she shot once.

A huge _whoosh _bent the grasses to the ground and forced the women to brace the sudden burst of air. The thing that came from the skies landed with a _splash _in the mud, huffing and panting. Satsuma lowered her guns.

"Lloyd!" Sheena screamed, ran to her beloved. Lloyd's wings sagged slightly, and there was a rip in his sleeve. He didn't seem injured.

"Oh . . . sorry, man," Satsuma grinned sheepishly.

"What's going on?" Sheena inspected the rip in Lloyd's sleeve, but there was only a rip. Satsuma's bullet only grazed his arm. Lloyd stood, eyes wide, voice urgent.

"The storm is getting worse! The Spirits are angry and are breaking free!" he gazed at Sheena. "And . . . we need you to send them back to their domains, Sheena."

"But what if she gets hurt?" Hikaru protested.

Sheena gently bit her lower lip, considering.

Satsuma folded her arms.

"It's dangerous . . . but Sheena's the only one who has pacts with all the Spirits."

Lloyd grabbed Sheena's hand, pulling her close. He tightly hugged her once, kissed her on the cheek and his wings spread once more. Girlfriend in hand, the Eternal Swordsman began to ascend. He stopped, hovered over the half-elfish sisters.

"We'll need you two. Satsuma can help defend Sheena and Hikaru can move the Tree roots so the Spirit can be freed."

The angel and summoner disappeared in the storm.

--

Magitech, magitech, magitech. Everywhere he looked, magitechnology was apparent in an almost obscene way. Panting, Artemis rushed through the empty city of Welgaia, the perfect resting place for the Fallen Angel firmly in his mind. Mithos' power was growing; Artemis could feel it. The tips of his fingers and toes began to feel cold like ice, just like the time Mithos possessed him before.

No, Mithos will not, shall not take advantage of him ever again!

He skidded to stop across the bridge of purplish energy, gasping for breath. He wiped beads of sweat off his brow with the back of a hand. The transporter . . . it didn't look like it was functional. Artemis smiled, crouching at the machine to examine it.

One of the panels was loose. Artemis pried it open, peered inside the magitech. Mana fragments were wired to the machine, drawing mana from it. Frowning, Artemis pulled out a mana fragment. It was little more than a rock now. Its mana was sucked dry.

The young man was not to be deterred. A total of five mana fragments were needed to power the magitech. The time was not right for more fragments to be harvested, and the ones that had been stored in Welgaia's warehouses were all taken to the Giant Tree to assist in Mithos' revival.

Another smile graced Artemis' lips. For once during his entire journey, he knew what to do! Silently he thanked the Professors Sage for their lessons about magic, mana, and magitech. He gathered all the dry mana fragments, carried them deeper into the dead city. Finally, after traveling countless corridors and passing several angel dwellings, he found the machine he needed.

It was like a giant hydraulic press, designed to replenish mana to dry fragments. The technology was never perfected, but it would have to do for now. Artemis opened the press, checking the machine over. It seemed in good condition. That machine's power was still good, so Artemis fired it up. Inside went the fragments of mana. The machine did its job rather well.

First it crushed the fragments, melted them down, mixed it with mana, and then hardened them into physical form once more. Harvesting natural fragments of mana yielded far better results, but Artemis was in no position to complain.

The whole process took half an hour at the machine's fastest, and all the while Artemis worried and fretted about his dear mother and her friends back on the surface. It was hard to believe he stood on another planet.

He squeezed his eyes shut, pressing a hand to his temple.

"No," he whispered. "If Mother could resist you, then so will I!"

The last sentence echoed shrilly; Artemis had almost screamed. The mentally invasive feeling eroded away, and warmth returned to Artemis' blood.

The Derris Emblem grew hot in Artemis' palm.

"Tough luck," Artemis spat.

Once the fragments were ready, Artemis repaired the magitech and powered up the transporter.

Mithos' castle was every bit as gloomy as Artemis had imagined it to be. Exhausted, Artemis walked up the flight of stairs, through the great gate, and before he even knew, stood before the grand throne of the elves.

This was where his father had used the Eternal Sword to reunite the planet as one, where he ended the tyranny of Mithos and the Cruxis. Artemis walked up to the sculpted throne, the ancient elvish runes faded and worn. He withdrew a knife that he'd been keeping, a small one with a smooth, sharp blade of mythril. Artemis carved a depression in the throne. The ancient stone crumbled away before the tiny dagger.

Murmuring, Artemis put the Derris Emblem into the recess, summoning mana to aid him.

"O great mana that gives us life and sustains us . . . I am thy servant, I am yours in body, mind, and soul. Help me to give this Spirit a place of eternal rest!"

Mithos' voice faded even as the Spirit vehemently protested, cursing Artemis and his family, Lloyd and Kratos especially. Artemis took his hands away. The Emblem stayed set in the stone, and Mithos imprisoned certainly.

Artemis stood, looking on, a great weight lifted from his shoulders. He took his knife once more, carved a passage below the Emblem—

_Here lies the Fallen Angel, Mithos Yggdrasill, Hero of the Kharlan War._


	28. Farwell

Hikaru: I was hoping for a thirty-chapter long story . . . so expect at least a two-part epilogue. So, I guess this, officially, is the final chapter of The Innocent.

Raphael/Artemis: Hikaru Irving owns nothing!

Hikaru: EPILOGUE ON THE WAY, DON'T FORGET!!

--

It seemed that a huge gravitational point was made with Volt in the sky, with everything being drawn up toward it. Somewhere in the back of Raine's mind she guessed that Genis' earlier Event Horizon spell might've had some effect like that, but she had no room for other thoughts as she clung almost helplessly to the Giant Tree, arm wrapped about the unconscious Nemesis.

The wind tore at her skin, threatened to sweep her up in the air to be caught in Volt's storm. She peered through the chaos, at the being that started it all. Human it may not be, it was still an innocent life. If she could save just one innocent life . . .

Violently Raine remembered the demise of the Palmacosta's Governor-General Dorr.

Her healing arts could not save even one innocent life? Not so. She saved her comrades many, many times, and although she did not heal this being, she still helped save it.

She felt something in her pocket.

Carefully Raine retrieved it. Her eyes went wide, disbelieving. How could she have a spare Pineapple Gel and not know about it? She popped the gel into her mouth, the medicine dissolving in her mouth.

_Snap._

A great howl met Raine's ears and an unbearable frigidity with it. Celsius' wolf sidekick Fenrir had broken free. Spirit it was not, it was inexplicitly loyal to the la belle dame sans merci—the Spirit of Ice.

Energy returned to Raine, the mana overflowing within her. She stood, staff raised.

"Field Barrier!"

--

The castle was empty. That was how it was when Artemis arrived, but not when he tried to leave it. Cards he almost ran out—he now had only a few spell cards that stored a spell that one of the Sages taught him to inscribe back home. Therefore it was very fortunate indeed that Artemis brought a few short ninja swords along with him. He didn't like such close combat much, but choice he had not.

How could undead monsters know to work the transporters? He would never know. He dashed throughout the castle, leaping and slicing through any unlucky monster to get in his way. Only one angel he'd seen. Three phantom knights had been on the hunt for the young shinobi, and so Artemis hid away in a random room to wait.

The angel, a young black winged female in black armor, lay slumped in a corner of the room, by the large bookshelves. Her two swords lay on the elaborate rug. Curious, Artemis approached the angel. She wasn't dead, or even wounded.

It was her Cruxis Crystal.

It glowed dimly, and Artemis examined it. Having a dwarven grandfather had its advantages. Artemis looked around the room. He couldn't go outside yet, not with those monsters on the hunt for him. His eyes landed on the nearby table. A half-engraved Key Crest lay there, glimmering weakly. He glanced back at the angel. Was she trying something?

Nonetheless, Artemis grabbed the Key Crest. With the same knife he used to engrave Mithos' epitaph, he finished the spell, craving the angelic language he knew so well. The Key Crest had been made into a bracelet, so Artemis put it on the angel's arm.

The angel's breathing resumed, she blinked, and moved. Her wings stirred, and she seemed . . . human. Not at all like the soulless angels Artemis' mother and father had told him about.

He held his breath, heart pumping, eyes wide.

The angel _spoke._

"Where . . .?"

Her dark blue eyes fluttered open, and she moved her silvery blue hair from her face, confused. Artemis gently smiled at her. He could use another sword hand or two.

"My name is Artemis," the angel looked up at him, "what's your name?"

The angel blinked, brow creased.

"My . . . name?"

Artemis' face fell. She had been an angel so long that she . . . forgot her name? Well, being a Welgaian angel, she certainly had no need of a name here.

Artemis stood, offered his hand to the angel.

"Your name is Belle."

--

"C'mere, _wolfy!"_

Noishe tackled Fenrir, the icy cold fur of no bother to the Protozoan. For whatever reason, Noishe enjoyed this little fight with the ice wolf. Perhaps he was having trouble adjusting to the human way of doing things. He was still an Arshis at heart. The two rolled around in the mud, pounding every inch of each other they could reach, Noishe's elfish sword lying forgotten.

His ears perked as he deciphered how the fight went for others—

Genis cast offensive spells against Volt, hoping to nail the Spirit.

Raine healed and defended.

Raphael flew, exchanging blows with a Tethe'allan drake.

Colette was now ready for battle once more, and helped Raphael.

And then came a sound.

Noishe pinned Fenrir to the ground, reached for his blade. Up, flying through the dark, swirling clouds were . . .

"Lloyd! Sheena!"

Sheena rode on Lloyd's back piggyback style, and following them were the Nightshades, airborne on Rheairds.

Fenrir bit at Noishe's ear. Crying out, Noishe wrenched away, they tackled one another some more, and . . . Noishe bit Fenrir's ear. The ice wolf yelped, suddenly submissive. Noishe quirked a brow. He stood, away from the ice wolf. Fenrir sat before Noishe, lay down.

"Come," Noishe commanded. The wolf without hesitation obeyed.

_Hmm . . ._

"Spread!"

Genis' spell shot directly at Volt, at least distracting him if nothing else.

Lloyd hovered around the Giant Tree, and Noishe couldn't hear it over the storm, but after Lloyd told Sheena something, the summoner began chanting.

Everything slowed.

The roots of the Giant Tree that trapped the other Spirits unraveled, taking root back into the muddy earth. Simultaneously the Spirits were released. But before the immortal beings could wreak certain doom upon the Aselians, Sheena chanted more verses. The Spirits, one by one, stopped all activity.

Volt sank from the clouds, down to the Giant Tree where his fellows were. The clouds parted, swirling away. The rain still continued, but it didn't pound on the people beneath the skies. The wind quieted. The unease Noishe felt within the earth disappeared.

The Spirits dissipated into colorful airborne mana streams, fading from sight.

Once the danger passed, those airborne landed in the muddy ground near the Tree.

Noishe quietly stood, watching as Lloyd approached the Giant Tree.

The Spirit Martel lay at the roots of the Tree, regaining consciousness as her mana and power returned to her. She stood before the Tree, before the Eternal Swordsman and his comrades.

"I thank you,"

She faded away.

Lloyd drew his Material Blade, melded them into the Eternal Sword. Placing its blade into the earth before the Giant Tree, the hilt glowing. Now that the storm stopped, Noishe's Protozoan ears picked out his former master's words—

"Spirits . . . forgive me."

The Sword became the Material Blade once more, and Lloyd simply looked at them for a moment prior to recollecting them. His angel wings, blood red now, flashed. They grew into the turquoise wings he'd originally obtained.

A cold nose touched Noishe's hand. He glanced down at Fenrir. The ice wolf nudged Noishe again, as if toward something. Noishe looked on. Colette stood by the Tree, silently watching.

The Protozoan smiled at the ice wolf.

"No need to tell _me," _he whispered.

--

Without his new angel acquaintance Belle, Artemis would've been dead long ago. Whether it was a mischief of Mithos' he could not know, nor did he want to know. But the angel swordian had great skill, bore a huge arsenal of offensive magic spells, even some that Artemis had never heard tell of or seen before. Her wings made her so much more agile than the undead that charged them from every corner, and together with Artemis' shinobi acrobatics, they were a nigh unbeatable team.

In what felt like mere seconds the unlikely team reached the depths of Derris-Kharlan, well past Welgaia. They never encountered the blown-out stone bridge that Artemis had taken out on the way to the abandoned castle of Mithos, and this worried the young ninja. Well, there were almost infinite paths of Derris-Kharlan, and it may be possible that all of them would lead back to the warp pad that would take them back to Aselia. Or, it may be possible none of the roads would and they would wind up somewhere even deeper in the elfish planet.

Artemis never liked thinking pessimistically.

He had something ingrained in his memory—a map of this part of Derris-Kharlan. His grandfather had actually mapped it out and showed it to him countless times, constantly emphasizing that Artemis might end up going here, and so Artemis learned every bit and corner of the map.

Unfortunately, looking at a map and being in the actual place were entirely different things.

"Belle," Artemis jogged by the angel's side as she glided effortlessly, "do you know how to get to the surface?"

"Surface . . ." she said softly, hands easily gripping the hilts of her ebony-silver blades.

Artemis felt the urge to roll his eyes but didn't. Okay, so the poor girl was suffering from centuries-old trauma and memory loss, but how could one forget the surface of the planet Aselia and the fact they were on Derris-Kharlan right now?

Belle stopped, hovering over the wide stone platform engraved with elfish runes. Artemis skid to a halt behind her, bent double over and panting for breath.

The angel pointed to another stone road in another direction, west. She began gliding again, and Artemis, breath hardly regained, sides aching, ran after her.

--

Lloyd sighed evenly, deeply. If Artemis succeeded, then this whole ordeal was finally done with. The Spirits may be malcontent, but at least the world would no longer be at stake. He turned to face Sheena, who absolutely beamed.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the former Sylvarantian Chosen One. She glared daggers, spat poison. Lloyd looked away, one hand resting on a sword hilt.

Raphael, who simply floated around, asked,

"What're we gonna do now?"

Indeed, the young angel had a point.

Genis, standing by his older sister, smiled.

"Let's go home,"

Yes . . . home. Home to what? A bunch of dwarven furniture and a pair of Chefs fighting over what religion should reign supreme after the Church of Martel? Both his fathers were gone . . . where, Lloyd knew not. Why Dirk was gone was anyone's guess. Kratos had to be alive, but . . . where is he?

Just as everyone began to move, wing packs in hand, Lloyd clenched a fist.

"Not yet. Wait until Artemis gets here. We need to thank him."

Not one soul moved.

--

_Why aren't I screaming?_

Perhaps he was just too shocked to actually do anything about it. The floating stone platforms and roads just whipped by as he plunged into sure oblivion and everlasting doomed obscurity. His swords were gone, knocked from his hands what seemed like ages ago . . . and his cards scattered to the winds. All he could do was look on as more roads leapt away from him and clutch his locket, the one thing he had left of his family—

And he ceased falling.

Once more he thanked his lucky stars that he befriended an angel. Belle had Artemis in a good grip, and she bore him up, never once complaining. Artemis, shaking uncontrollably, murmured thanks. The angel nodded in response.

Once he was on stable ground again, Artemis scooped up his swords, belting them safely about his waist. Just ahead was the warp pad.

He glanced at his angel companion. She hovered idly by, as if unsure. Artemis softly smiled, took the angel's hand.

"C'mon, Belle,"

--

Lloyd couldn't have been happier. Artemis (and strangely, a female angel) bolted toward them from the ruins of the Tower of Salvation, all smiles and gladness. Artemis stopped just in front of the assembled group, laughing and bent over, panting for breath. Lloyd smiled.

"How'd it go?"

"Splendid! I sealed Mithos!"

To this an uproar of cheering met Artemis, including a glomp from tackle-happy Noishe. After all the happy, happy, joy, joy, Artemis stood, face sullen.

"What's wrong?" Genis asked, hands on his hips.

Artemis drew out another spell card. It was white, completely.

"I have to erase your memories of me."

Absolute silence met this. No one knew what quite to say, Lloyd at the most loss. Yet, the Eternal Swordsman could understand. Who knew what kind of effect on the timeline would occur if Lloyd knew about his future child? Lloyd reached out, patted Artemis on the head, mussing up the already unruly dark hair.

"You're a lot like your grandfather," he said, "courageous, likes to do things on his own."

Artemis looked away. Lloyd saw the boy's lower lip trembling.

"And you do them well, Artemis."

"Why do we have to forget you?" Genis protested, fists clenched.

Lloyd frowned. Genis and Artemis have been friends from the get go. No doubt the concept of losing the memories of a friend—even a new one—is difficult to grasp and accept. But secretly Lloyd smiled. Genis would know Artemis once more . . .

Artemis sighed, eyes not meeting anyone's.

"Zelos isn't here, but through Raphael I should be able to wipe his memory, too."

Raphael blinked twice over, abashed.

Artemis walked a distance back, to his female angel friend. He coaxed her forward; she seemed rather timid. Lloyd's mouth parted. An angel, timid?

"I just need you to take care of Belle," Artemis backed away some more, the white card held out in front of him.

Lloyd nodded.

"All right. Thank you,"

A light began to glow, emitted from the card. Lloyd's heart raced; if he didn't say it now—

The light grew brighter, encompassed all—

The word escaped Lloyd's lips—

And he saw nothing else.

-

When he awoke, he had no idea what happened. Lloyd sat upright, dreary. The last thing he remembered . . . sending the Spirits back to where they belonged, including Mithos . . . and they succeeded.

One by one the others awoke—Raine, Sheena, Colette, Noishe, Raphael, Genis, Hikaru, Satsuma, Fenrir, and Nemesis.

Lloyd glanced up, at the clear, rich sapphire sky. Hard to believe just a while ago, it had been awash in dark, ominous clouds and destructive storm . . .

A hand squeezed his. Lloyd squeezed Sheena's hand back, a smile brought to his face.

Raine and Genis were looking over Nemesis, who had no idea what was going on, much less that he had been part of an evil plot.

Raphael hovered over Fenrir, playing with the ice wolf (who had apparently pledged its loyalty to Noishe instead of Celsius).

And Noishe sat with Colette, speaking softly with her. Interestingly, the Protozoan held Colette's hand . . .

Lloyd wished them the best of luck.

Sheena spoke.

"What are we going to do now?"

Smiling, Lloyd kissed her once.

"We're going home."

And so ended the meaningless manipulation of the innocent.


	29. Epilogue Part I

Hikaru: First part of the epilogue!

--

Lloyd had almost died today.

Oh no, not metaphorically, and not spiritually, either. It was rather quite simple.

Sheena, late in her pregnancy, had been long due for a baby shower, which Colette, Raine, Chocolat, Clair, and even Presea took great enthusiasm in. And of course, no party was held in better a place than the undisputed king of all resort towns, Altamira. Naturally, the women planned and took care of the shower, leaving the men to their own devices.

They hadn't actually gone to Altamira yet, as the actual party wouldn't take place until at least a month later. So Lloyd thought then would be a good time to pack up his stuff (what little had had—mostly clothing and crafting tools) from his old home and move into New Mizuho. Still at the same location in the Iselian forest, the buildings were built long before the spread of the Nemespawn, by Mizuhon hands and a healthy helping from Dirk, who was still missing.

An amusing aspect of the vacated house was the simple fact that it wasn't vacated at all—the two Chefs (who still sought eligible real estate) had made themselves quite at home, and still debated over the future religion of the world. By now the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus had been all but forgotten, and the Wonder Chef was intent on a religion that had a hierarchy of gods that all had a given role in producing good food and cooking, in which Martel would be a staple. The Dark Chef, for whatever reason a strong believer in reincarnation, opted for a set of gods that set one's first life at the lowest station of the low, with the future lives being better or worse based on how the individual lived currently as a behavioral control device. The Dark Chef's family would rule over the entire church.

Naturally, Lloyd didn't care for the Chefs other than the fact they were occupying a house that belonged to his missing adoptive father. So, after tossing them into the river off the balcony again, Lloyd packed up.

Lloyd Irving wasn't a nervous person by nature. If he was, it rarely showed. But now he was close to fainting out of sheer fright. He was marrying into a village with a very old and unique cultural tradition—and marrying its leader, no less, who was currently in the process of producing an heir for said village. That alone should be enough to condemn him to those of the very traditional villagers, usually the elders. Not only that, but he would have to integrate into Mizuhon lifestyle, which meant the most intense training he'd ever had to face. If a very pregnant Sheena could still train with no problem, then Lloyd would have a hell of time adjusting. Well. At least he had a cool outfit.

Fortunately most of the New Mizuho citizens were quite young, the oldest at early forties. The elderly Mizuho people, excluding the Vice-Chief Tiga and Chief Igaguri, had stayed behind in the Tethe'allan Mizuho, those too old to look for and accept radical change as their new Chief had already brought.

Thus became Old Mizuho.

Surprisingly (or should he be surprised?) Nemesis, with virtually no identity and no place to go, stayed with Raine, aiding her in her everlasting quest for knowledge. In other words, it was to be her guinea pig. It knew how to speak all Aselian languages, knew every single custom of every single culture, and had a personality to boot. Nemesis usually took the form of a young male, aged twenty-one at the most, with pointed ears, burnished bronze skin, red eyes and metallic red hair, which was long and he wore in a thick braid. He must have a great liking for fire, for he would be warm to the touch, practically worshipped Efreet, and bore much dexterity in converting and manipulating fire, especially Soul Fire.

Raine had asked Nemesis (when it was healed) what name it wished to be called. Nemesis had simply responded, "Just call me Nemesis." Nem was his nickname.

Nem was quite the troublemaker. He cracked smart-aleck jokes, pulled practical pranks, and even imitated Zelos to an astounding accuracy.

Nem helped with the baby shower, incidentally. For this he shifted into a female version of his usual form, which greatly amused everyone.

Which brings things back to the present. The baby shower had just taken place (in which Lloyd and Sheena received mostly infant things), and as the weather was as fine as any day in Altamira, Zelos had suggested going to the beach. He acted very strange about it, as if he knew something no one else did, but Lloyd didn't press the matter.

Upon reaching the beach, Lloyd almost died.

He had been eating the most delicious jelly beans (which were a lot more delectable than traditional jelly beans), and saw something that suddenly made him sharply gasp just as he popped in his mouth a rather large handful of jellybeans. After much silent coughing and heaving, Noishe rushed to his master's side and performed the Heimlich maneuver (one wondered how Noishe knew that).

Lying in the sun by the lapping waters, actually clad in swimwear and sunglasses, were three people Lloyd thought he'd never see again. Coughing, he stood up and laughed.

"Yuan, you are one amazing son of a bitch!"

"Lloyd," Dirk reproached his human son, a blue snow cone halfway to the mouth buried somewhere in his bushy beard.

Kratos had been napping.

Yuan opened his mouth to unleash a witty comeback, but his eye glued itself to Nemesis.

In which case, Nem's eyes widened and he screeched,

"_Daddy!"_

--and promptly glomped Yuan.

"If—I—had—a—son—" Yuan managed between gasps for air, "I—would—imagine—him—to—be more—loveable—" and thus his lungs collapsed.

Nem whined in sarcastic response, "Aww, what, I'm not loveable enough, Dad?"

A threat of decapitation from Raine convinced Nem to release his death-slash-iron-grip on Yuan.

"He did save your life," Raine said, smiling mischievously. She was met with confused looks from all save the napping Kratos.

"The 'Yuan' that died in the Flanoir Renegade base was actually a Nemespawn."

Oh . . . BIG surprise there.

Nem could've been wagging a tail—Lloyd blinked. Nem actually was wagging a tail.

"Yeah! I don't remember much, but Raine told me that one of my early sub-divisions had taken Yuan's shape, and Yuan used that to get out of the base and search for Kratos and the missing mana fragments from Derris-Kharlan."

Yuan, breathing again, sat up.

"I found sleeping beauty," Yuan gestured to Kratos, "sorting through my sock drawer, saying something about Exspheres in my socks. He must've been on something . . . anyway, he knew about the stolen mana fragments, and agreed to come back to the surface. We met Dirk in Luin by ship. Dirk suggested that we take a vacation, since you lot would already be on whatever's going on in the world, so . . ." he shrugged sheepishly, "here we are."

"Did the Spirit Storm affect this area?" Genis asked.

"Nothing serious. Just a stronger tide and wind."

Yuan sat back down on his beach chair, sunglasses set firmly on his face.

Lloyd stood by Kratos' chair, a huge grin spread across his face.

"Kratos . . . "

Kratos' eyes slowly opened, and he yawned before giving Lloyd a questioning look.

"You're a grandpa!"

And Kratos promptly fainted.

--

Dirk wanted to use a dwarven name.

Noishe wanted ancient Balacruf names.

Yuan wanted no part in it.

Kratos had not specified any particular preference for the name of his grandchild.

Lloyd thought Sheena would want a Mizuho name, but when he asked her, she simply said she didn't care if it were Mizuhon or Iselian, as long as it was a good name.

Genis wanted to name the child after a powerful sorceress if it were a girl, and Raine after the last Balacruf ruler.

Colette wanted to use the name Martel.

Presea wanted an old fashioned Tethe'allan name, while Regal suggested an elfish name.

Zelos had suggested halfheartedly the name of a woman who was in actuality a winged dragon. Raphael put forth his mother's name.

Lloyd wasn't sure what to call his child. Being raised in a dwarven house, naturally he had a fondness for dwarven names, especially those of the ancient dwarven gods. But names like Freya or Odin were a bit clichéd, no?

"Kratos," Lloyd almost whined in another name brainstorming session, "you're four thousand years old! Don't you have some good names?"

Here Nem laughed.

"Yeah, Kratos. Wouldn't want your grandchild to end up with a sucky name!"

. . . which earned him a murderous glare from said grandfather.

"Well," Kratos began, "I do know a number of names. Helios or the feminine version Sol, after the Balacruf god of the sun. Luther, 'famous warrior,' Reno, 'gambler,'—"

"I'm not too sure on the last one," Sheena said, chuckling.

And so Kratos' list of names went—

Alain, after an Asgardian legend.

Avalon, the fabled Asgardian paradise.

Ayden, fire.

Kendall, from the brightest valley.

Mackenzie, child of the wise leader.

Ace, unity or first-rate.

There were many more names, but in the end Lloyd and Sheena chose two names—

Genis' feminine name, Li'at'dano, which they decided to change to Liathano for easier pronunciation, and Lenethano, the male name that Kratos had provided among his many others that meant 'lion' in an ancient dead language, Ispania.

To keep with the Mizuho tradition, their child would be named either Liath or Leneth, their true names hidden.

They just never expected to have twins.


	30. Epilogue Part II

Hikaru: Well! I've found out my Geometry grade is going down the gutter today. Wonderful, isn't it? Anyway, enough 'bout moi.

Fenrir:howls:

Noishe: SECOND PART OF EPILOGUE!

--

Wonderful.

It was really amazing, how intensive studying of Nemesis revealed the workings of shape shifting and how the Renegades have even managed to create a living organism with such power!

Nem in his usual form, sat down in his chair, hooked up to all sorts of wires and magitech devices the life form in question didn't even know the name of. Professor Raine stood at a table not too far away, carefully putting a glass slide beneath a microscope. She adjusted the knobs, peering through the lens closely.

"Tell me what you see, Raine." Nem said through the net of wires and magitech sensors.

Raine had taken a sample of Nem's skin cells and examined them.

"Fascinating . . ."

She didn't seem to hear him.

"Raine . . ." Nem whined, very Zelos-like.

She ignored him still.

Idly Nemesis wondered if he should change into a ruin.

Finally she spoke.

"Your skin cells . . . your current skin color is dark, but when I look at them here, they're light blue . . .and when I feed some mana to them, they change color . . ."

Nem rolled his eyes. Would she just tell him how his confounded body worked?

"Raine, just tell me how it works."

"All right. But first." Raine turned, a syringe in hand. "I'll need your blood."

Nemesis paled.

"_Noooooooooooooo!"_

--

Iselian weddings were quite simple, unlike those elaborate Tethe'allan weddings that took at least a year to plan out and cost people several homes' worth of money. It was a custom going back generations, perhaps even before Mithos split the world in two.

Firstly, the bride and groom in question take a trip to the nearby Martel Temple to pray that their marriage would work. Since it was revealed that Martel was not in fact a plausible deity, though, the villagers were lost as to whom they should pray.

Noishe, as the bridegroom, suggested that they pray to the Spirits. They did, after all, influence the world quite profoundly.

After prayers, back to the village they went to dress up for the occasion (for while praying it was best to be humble). The most expensive things in an Iselian wedding were the outfits, after the rings.

Noishe was outfit in a handsome manner of dress—a rich navy blue tunic embroidered with silver elvish runes, each spelling out blessings, a nice pair of matching slacks and boots, dragon leather gloves, and a cloak that shimmered like mist. He was the last Protozoan, but he remembered what his parents once told him when he was young—when a fully evolved, humanoid protozoan is married, he paints his face with the symbol that favored him.

Noishe chose to paint a wolf's paw print on one cheekbone.

Colette was beautiful, every bit the bride. Her silk white dress was long, trailing to the ground. A deep red sash was wound about her waist with a length of it left hanging, the perfect accessory. Her golden blonde hair was gathered into a long sweeping braid, tied off with a red ribbon, with crimson jewels adorning her braid.

The rings had already been made. Dirk and Altessa worked together on them. Noishe's ring was a band of gold set with an emerald. Colette's ring was thin silver set with lapis lazuli.

The ceremony was fantastic and straightforward. The whole village turned up to witness the event (which took place at Dirk's house), and of course Lloyd and everyone else turned up. Fenrir had found a female wolf he'd taken a liking to, and not long after that, wolf cubs followed, all of them taking mostly after their father. Well, after four thousand years of being Celsius' guard dog, it must've been great for Fenrir to get out into the world again.

The former Sylvarantian Chosen marrying a Protozoan, who tamed the ice wolf Fenrir and said wolf now had cubs of its own.

What a family!

--

Genis, like Raine, devoted himself to the further study of mana. Tethe'allans didn't care much for magitech, so it was likely that they didn't spend much time researching mana, either. Thanks to the magitech four thousand years ago, the Giant Tree had withered and died, and mana disappeared from the world.

Genis studied mana for a way to invent a type of machinery much like today's magitech, but his machine would have to be more than a insatiable parasite feeding off the world's lifeblood.

To make his studying easier, Genis Sage (aided by Dirk and Altessa, naturally) built a simple house in the forest near the Giant Tree. All the materials he needed to research he brought with him, and he discovered more and more about mana the longer he stayed.

It wasn't long before Yuan joined him.

The Cruxis gone, the Renegades had no purpose, and were besides destroyed by Mithos and the Nemespawn.

Yuan had drifted for a while before finally deciding to settle near the Giant Tree, to be with Martel. His ring he wore always. He made no grave for Martel, since she lived on in the mesh of souls that was the Spirit of the Tree.

But rarely the Spirit appeared.

--

Presea had almost single-handedly rebuilt Ozette. After the Nightshades were discovered to bear powers, almost all interest in rebuilding the village evaporated.

But although the village was rebuilt, all its buildings back to their original splendor (whatever of that could be found), Presea lived alone. No one came to settle, for fear of the very thing that destroyed it—lightning of judgment, and angels descending from the heavens to exterminate the unworthy.

Presea didn't mind living alone. She'd been alone a long time.

But alone or not, she needed adequate work to support herself. She continued her father's woodworking business, but had to travel far to sell her wares. Her items sold well, but with all the time and effort she needed to make the things, she had no time to farm efficiently (although she had a small garden), and she needed money on hand to buy food and other necessities for herself.

So she found work in Regal's Lezareno Company. Most of her job was to dress up as Klonoa, Altimira's mascot, and help the Katz perform their plays. Her pay was good, and she had two people to talk to on her free time—her sister and the Lezareno president.

Regal had set up another headquarters in Sylvarant to help develop towns that asked for help. George was in charge of that headquarters. Regal was determined to restore the political order Sylvarant once had before the Desians, or rather, the Cruxis, had interfered. So far, Luin, the most developed Sylvarantian city had the most investments, residents, and had great access to routes of sea and land trade. Luin was swiftly moving down the road to becoming Sylvarant's capital city. It was odd, imagining Luin to be Sylvarant's capital. Both Regal and Presea thought that Sylvarant's eventual capital would end up being Iselia.

Regal's Lezareno headquarters also helped to finance and rebuild the devastated Palmacosta, the great city leveled to the ground over a year ago. It took a great deal of time to move or remove the debris from the ocean and begin rebuilding. It was common thought that Neil and Cacao had died during the natural disaster a year ago, but Genis and Raine had run into them when they dropped by Palmacosta to see how the rebuilding was going.

Neil and Cacao had survived the disaster, but barely. Cacao wanted to know badly where her daughter was, and was elated to know she was alive. Neil was rather somber at the fact of his city destroyed, but he put forth the most effort in rebuilding, even more so than Pietro had for Luin. Who, incidentally, Raine and Genis also came across in Palmacosta. The native Luin had indeed carried out his word to journey the world and help those in need.

Presea sorely wished that someone would move into Ozette. She could stand the cold, empty woods alone no longer.

--

Zelos was notoriously rich. And he donated a great deal to great causes—the revitalization in Sylvarant, for instance. He also, alongside his long-lost brother Raphael, founded an organization dedicated to protecting half-elves, the Half-Elf Liberation Front (HELF). Organization headquarters had been rooted in every city of Tethe'alla and Sylvarant, and were chock full of people (half-elf, human, elf, and even dwarf) devoting themselves to make a difference.

Even Seles was part of the organization.

Under the former law, when the law of the Cruxis meant a world's life or death, Seles could not be free as long as Zelos lived—as long as she posed a "threat" to the Chosen One. But with the downfall of Cruxis and the abolishment of the Church of Martel, there was no need for such strict measures any longer. Since Seles was still not quite old enough to live on her own, she lived with her older brothers.

HELF was a support group, a civil rights movement, a kind of legislature, and court all in one. It fought valiantly to support half-elves oppressed for any reason at all. For example, nobility and gentry who were not fond of half-elves bought them as slaves at high prices according to the half-elf's background. Unlike the intelligent half-elves enslaved at the Imperial Research Academy and elsewhere, those who weren't useful as such were sold into another slavery entirely.

Now anyone who marketed half-elves as any kind of slave was punished severely, for Tethe'alla's government had formally declared that half-elves were people like humans, elves, and dwarfs, and all deserved equal treatment.

And Zelos had been behind that marvelous success, with the generous help of his brother, sister, and the Sage siblings.

Zelos was actually making a difference.

One day he was on his way to King Tethe'alla the XVIII to tell him of a bright new plan to further HELF, but just outside the king's chamber he stopped, keen angelic hearing in high gear. Any trace of his brilliant plan vanished into the little nooks in the back of his mind.

King Tethe'alla XVIII . . . starting a war?

--

The Nightshades' father indeed was in Triet. He'd been there ever since Kvar had thrown him from the Asgard Ranch over by Luin, and he'd been devising alchemic, magic, and even magitech weapons to take over the ranch and rescue his daughters.

He seemed a tad disappointed when his daughters, upon finding him, told him that all human ranches were no longer in operation to manufacture Exspheres. Nevertheless, Remiro Sunstone was glad to have his family back.

Remiro had a small shop of alchemic wares, all of elvish make, to sell, and they sold well. Satsuma had begun an instructor's course in the handling of guns (which were a product of magitech). Hikaru had joined an organization called the Media Communications Academy (MCA), a Tethe'allan group in origin whose primary goal was to improve ways of communication between towns and eventually countries. An ambitious man named Chamberlain led the MCA. The first thing to improve upon was the newspaper. Hikaru and Satsuma became writers for some newspapers, and hunted juicy stories down like lions on the hunt.

Rawr.

--

Lloyd Irving lived in New Mizuho, husband of the Chief, and recently had begun training as a Mizuho swordsman. Their twin boy and girl children, Leneth and Liath had begun Igaguri training as soon as they were able to walk, talk, and run. Leneth had taken after his mother in terms of his dark hair color (which he liked keeping in a short ponytail at the nape of his neck), but after his father in his eye color. Red, crimson, blood red. Liath looked most like her grandfather. Her dark crimson hair parted just the way Kratos' did, which she kept long and wore braided. Her eyes were Sheena's, and her personality was a mix of Sheena's, Lloyd's, and Kratos—stubborn, intelligent, enigmatic when she wanted to be, and a natural fighter. She preferred short katanas and throwing knives and shruiken, while her brother favored a short katana and the guardian cards. The Mizuho shinobi garbs suited them well, even if they weren't entirely of Mizuho origin.

Dirk still lived at his house (along with the Chefs), keeping up his livelihood of crafting things as he always had. Kratos lived in New Mizuho with his family, becoming more open than he ever had before, coming so close to doting on his grandchildren that Lloyd feared the angel was ill.

Orochi was like an uncle to the kids. He helped train them and he grew quite fond of them, often acting like a doting Kratos. And don't even get Lloyd started on old Chief Igaguri. Vice-Chief Tiga tried to retain his dignity in the presence of the kids, but one look at the young ninjas melted his heart.

The Fujibayashi-Irving family was training late afternoon, when the sun was sinking below the Iselian forest horizon. Leneth, Liath, and Lloyd were learning from Sheena how to utilize one's mana in order to achieve great superhuman speed and other such abilities—like running across walls and climbing up trees parallel to the ground with your feet alone. The kids were a natural at it—Lloyd fell flat on his face a number of times before he got it right.

When the sun set, and evening settled upon the region of Iselia, Orochi rushed to the Chief as fast as he possibly could—and even for a shinobi, that was pretty dern fast. He came bearing huge news—bad or good, no one could tell.

Kuchinawa had returned.

He had become the Chief of Old Mizuho.


End file.
